Endocrine Specialist Nurse | Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

The Endocrine Nurse Specialist is a senior member of the Diabetes and Endocrine MDT, providing expert endocrinology nursing care and advice to patients and healthcare professionals across the Royal Liverpool University Hospital site and primary care.

Working autonomously within agreed protocols, they lead nurse-led assessment and management of complex endocrine patients, support service development and quality improvement, and maintain effective links across organisational boundaries. The post-holder will request and undertake appropriate diagnostic tests, hold continuing responsibility for assessment, care planning, implementation and evaluation, and promote consistently high standards of care.

They will provide senior clinical support, act as a role model, and mentor and supervise junior staff and MDT colleagues. They will also develop and deliver specialist education for nursing, medical and allied health professionals, raising awareness and understanding of endocrine conditions within and beyond the Trust.

• Provide autonomous, evidence‑based specialist endocrine nursing care across inpatient and outpatient settings.
• Assess, triage, diagnose and manage complex endocrine conditions, initiate treatment within agreed protocols, and independently order and interpret diagnostic tests.
• Lead and contribute to the development of the endocrine service, including audits, governance reporting, and service improvement.
• Provide specialist advice and support to MDT colleagues across primary and secondary care, including running clinical sessions, telephone clinics, patient education and emergency endocrine support.
• Act as a senior clinical role model, supporting, supervising and mentoring junior staff, and prescribing as a qualified non‑medical prescriber where appropriate.
• Contribute to professional leadership through guideline development, MDT participation, appraisal, CPD, and maintaining links with local and national endocrine networks.
• Lead and deliver multidisciplinary education and training programmes for staff, students, patients and carers to promote self‑management and best practice.
• Support research, audit and quality improvement activity, ensuring compliance with Trust policies, regulatory requirements, and professional standards including record keeping, CQC and GIRFT.
• Communicate effectively with patients, families and professionals, supporting informed decision‑making and high‑quality, person‑centred endocrine care.

Key responsibilities include:

• Assess patients with thyroid disorders.
• Monitor response and titrate medicines in line with clinical/biochemical results.
• Liaise with the thyroid multidisciplinary team.
• Assess patients with growth hormone (GH) deficiency and provide pre-treatment education.
• Monitor response and provide long-term surveillance.
• Ensure timely repeat prescriptions for all patients on long-term therapy.
• Assess patients with acromegaly and provide pre-treatment education.
• Initiate and monitor testosterone replacement therapy for patients with hypogonadism.
• Educate patients with adrenal insufficiency on sick-day rules and adrenal-crisis prevention.

Registered Nurses at Royal Liverpool University Hospital are responsible for:

• Maintaining active status on the NMC register.
• Acting in line with the NMC Code and guidance.
• Adhering to Trust policies and procedures.
• Maintaining up-to-date skills/knowledge, professional awareness and a portfolio.

Detailed duties of the role:

• Work collaboratively with existing Endocrine Specialist Nurses and help develop priority areas of the service.
• Autonomously assess/triage endocrine referrals and review complex inpatients and outpatients; recommend or initiate treatment within agreed protocols.
• Order, perform, interpret and act on endocrinology investigations and results.
• Lead key service areas, reporting progress through audit and updates at Governance meetings.
• Assess, plan, co-ordinate, implement and evaluate evidence-based endocrine care with relevant professionals.
• Liaise with and support primary/secondary care clinicians on endocrine management.
• Deliver clinics, telephone support and patient education sessions, including medication titration.
• Ensure compliance with endocrinology medicines governance, administration and record keeping.
• Act as a senior role model, supporting and mentoring junior staff.
• Prescribe as a non-medical prescriber (where qualified) within scope of practice.
• Be flexible in working hours to support service development.
• Hold the endocrine emergency support line and manage calls appropriately.

Professional Leadership and Development:

• Identify, contribute to, or lead development and dissemination of evidence-based guidelines, standards and protocols.
• Maintain specialist clinical skills in assessment and treatment of endocrine and related conditions.
• Participate in MDT meetings and clinical supervision as required.
• Attend annual appraisal and agree a Personal Development Plan.
• Support specialist nursing colleagues’ development, including peer and clinical supervision.
• Keep knowledge/competence up to date via mandatory training, courses, study days, workshops and conferences.
• Lead and participate in nurse meetings (departmental and Trust-wide).

Administrative:

• Ensure compliance with endocrinology protocols/standards and required paperwork, including patient-experience surveys.
• Provide telephone consultation and support to patients and professionals, as appropriate.
• Maintain updated endocrine intranet/internet information for primary care professionals and patients.

Education & Training:

• Provide specialist advice and support to colleagues, professionals, patients, carers and relatives on endocrine conditions.
• Lead/contribute to multidisciplinary education and training for professionals caring for endocrine patients across organisations.
• Develop, co-ordinate and deliver endocrinology education programmes; evaluate effectiveness and support junior staff.
• Promote awareness of endocrinology and related conditions through health-promotion activities and events.
• Support and educate patients to develop self-management skills; provide verbal and written advice to patients/carers as required.
• Provide an appropriate learning environment for students and new starters through supervision, mentorship, training and evaluation.

Research, Audit and Governance:

• Adhere to relevant endocrinology policies/procedures and demonstrate evidence-based care, including knowing where to obtain evidence.
• Conduct/participate in local and national endocrine audit; implement best practice as appropriate.
• Lead and participate in research projects with senior MDT colleagues.
• Maintain clear, concise and contemporaneous patient records in line with Trust policy and record-keeping standards.

Communication:

• Communicate effectively with all members of the endocrinology multidisciplinary team.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with patients, carers and relatives to support long-term care.
• Engage with patients and carers to inform service delivery and development.