Advanced Clinical Practitioner | University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust

We are inviting ambitious, motivated qualified or due to qualify in the next 6 months ACPs to apply for an exceptional opportunity to work within the Head and neck team on a 2 year fixed term contract. You will work closely with the whole Head and neck MDT with full training and mentorship provided and the chance to develop confidence and expertise in high-impact clinical decision-making.

We are proud to offer:

• A dedicated practice development time to support learning, innovation, and skill consolidation
• Structured opportunities to develop advanced clinical skills
• A truly multidisciplinary team providing support, training and teamwork.
• Strong, visible support from both the consultant body and senior nursing leadership, with ACPs embedded and valued as core members of the MDT.

If you are looking to push your practice forward, develop as a leader and support patients and their families during suspected cancer journeys.

Key Responsibilities:

• Demonstrate competency in all areas of the Head and neck ACP role.
• Demonstrate the ability to look after patients with a wide range of pathologies.
• Support consultant led triage of suspected cancer referrals.
• Independently run Suspected cancer clinics and 5 year post treatment follow up clinics.
• Establish diagnoses and differential diagnoses rapidly and initiate or plan for definitive care.
• Actively involved in developing and teaching on UHL run Head and neck study days.
• Work with all in-patient and supporting specialties as well as primary care and pre-hospital services.
• Identify which patients require additional support.
• Undertake relevant additional activities across the four pillars of advanced practice (clinical practice, research, leadership & management, and education).
• Act in accordance with relevant professional regulator’s code of conduct.

Our new strategy, developed with the support and feedback of colleagues, patients, and partners, is our compass for the next seven years (2023-2030). We have four primary goals: high-quality care for all, being a great place to work, partnerships for impact, research and education excellence. We will embed health equality in all we do - taking active steps to reduce the avoidable differences in healthcare that some people face, working in partnership with communities.

About the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust:

• Provide treatment plans for patients that are consistent with the outcomes of assessment and the most probable diagnoses using current clinical pathways where required in order to facilitate timely, quality, patient care and/or appropriate onward referral.
• Utilise senior decision makers input when cases are complex or fall out of the scope of knowledge or practice.
• Where appropriate, initiate diagnostic tests, interpret and act upon results and provide advice to members of the multi-disciplinary team on patient treatment.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of interventions/treatments and make any necessary modifications.
• Practice autonomously in planning and implementing treatment and care, undertaking advanced clinical practice that has been agreed with the senior nursing and medical teams within the specialty.
• Maintain a safe environment for patients, relatives and staff, adhering to infection prevention and control policies.
• If registered as a non-medical prescriber, independently prescribe medication and fluids within current legislation and Trust policies.
• Improve the quality of the patient experience and journey by identifying and meeting the individual clinical needs of patients.
• Act at all times in the patients' best interests and as a patient advocate.
• Provide specialist advice on patient care to the healthcare team and act as a specialist resource within the service and other areas within the Trust.

Leadership:

• Provide expert advanced clinical practice demonstrating autonomous decision making and high level clinical judgement which favours both the departmental and patients’ needs.
• Act as a leader, coach, mentor and supervisor for trainees and junior staff and support workforce development through structured supervision, appraisal and professional development planning.
• Foster a positive learning culture that promotes wellbeing, inclusivity and continuous improvement that aligns with governing bodies and the Trust's ethos.
• Help support succession planning and future workforce retention and recruitment by acting as a role model, showcasing and championing the pillars of advanced practice at regional and national forums.

Research:

• Identify areas of own clinical practice that require research/audit.
• Devise audit/research tools, analyse data, write reports and present findings to the multi-disciplinary team.
• Complete audit cycle by implementing change in practice as required and re-auditing.
• Recruit patients for ongoing clinical research trials within the Head and neck service.
• Participate in audit, mortality and morbidity and other clinical meetings where the outcomes and recommendations have the potential to improve the quality of care and give case presentations as required.
• Research that has been undertaken should be disseminated both locally and nationally at seminars, conferences and through publication in national journals.
• Showcase the research pillar of advancing practice within personal electronic portfolios.

Education and Training Development:

• Be an authoritative and credible source of knowledge and specialist clinical advice/information to the team by keeping abreast of new treatments and technologies for the specialty.
• Actively maintain self-development, objectively reviewing own performance in terms of management, clinical practice and decision making, identifying own needs and taking steps to meet those needs; reflected in an electronic professional portfolio.
• Demonstrate responsibility for personal professional development using feedback and reflection aligned to the requirements of regulatory bodies (NMC Code and HCPC).
• Participate in planning and delivery of multi-disciplinary education programmes for staff within specialty and wider arena to promote learning opportunities and the development of clinical skills.
• Post qualification and sign off period, the ACP will continue to develop knowledge, skills and competencies across all four pillars with their Educational Supervisors showcasing this in their portfolio of clinical practice.
• Opportunities will be provided to follow the ACCEND framework to develop core competencies in cancer care.