Medical Physicist - Clinical Scientist (XR07) in Leeds

Applications are invited for a Band 7 Clinical Scientist post (Nuclear Medicine) at a large teaching hospital and also at its customer sites. Ideally, the post-holder will be a registered Clinical Scientist, or in a position to obtain registration within 1 year. Those with less experience may be considered for appointment at a lower grade.

The Radionuclide physics team delivers specialised and complex clinical services, commitments include:

• Management of a wide array of equipment (advising on selection, acceptance testing, maintenance, calibration and repair).
• Providing teaching and training for a range of staff groups.
• Administering oral doses of radioactive materials to patients and supporting intravenous administrations.
• Advising on radiation protection and other regulatory matters relating to the use of unsealed radioactive materials, as agreed with Trust MPEs, RPAs and RWA.

Main duties of the job:

• Perform QC testing on 8 gamma cameras (5 SPECT/CT and 1 dedicated CZT cardiac) & PET/CT scanner; reviewing performance, analysing results of Quality Control (QC) tests and assist clinical staff by dealing with problems/errors.
• Perform QC testing on over 20 radionuclide calibrators, 3 gamma counters and 6 gamma probes; monitoring QC results, providing essential correction factors as and when required.
• Write/edit clinical and technical procedures for staff to follow.
• Support the management of patient image data and adapting manufacturer supplied programmes to local specifications.
• Advising and supporting on the interpretation of these images.
• Support the delivery of molecular radiotherapies, including I131 (malignant/benign) and Radium treatments.

About us:

The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust cares for 2 million patients every year and is one of the largest hospital trusts in the UK serving an immediate population of 770,000 and providing regional specialist care for 5.4 million people. The Trust has strong academic links with regional universities and collaborates closely with commercial partners in the development, investigation and evaluation of medical equipment and clinical systems.

The Department of Medical Physics & Engineering supports the established range of applications of physics and engineering in medicine, and seeks to be actively involved in the development, assessment, implementation of new and existing health care technologies and procedures and treatments. The Radionuclide Physics group is based within the Leeds Cancer Centre at St James's University Hospital.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals is committed to our process of redeploying 'at risk' members of our existing workforce to new roles. As such, all our job adverts are subject to this policy and we reserve the right to close, delay or remove adverts while this process is completed.

Job responsibilities:

• Under direction of senior clinical scientists within the section, support the provision of an effective scientific service in Nuclear Medicine within the Trust and at customer sites.
• Support the provision of advice and assistance to users of unsealed radioactive materials in order that they can work safely and comply with the relevant legislation.
• Carry out annual audits of Nuclear Medicine departments within the Trust and at customer sites to monitor and evaluate compliance with IRR17 and EPR2016.
• Analyse audit results and provide pro-active radiation protection assistance.
• Communicate audit results to various staff groups in an appropriate manner.
• Assist with the provision of unsealed radionuclide therapy at St James's University Hospital.
• Provide radiation protection advice to patients in an appropriate form in order that informed consent is achieved and that members of the public are adequately protected.
• Take an active part in physics support team dealing with gamma camera and calibrator troubleshooting.
• Respond to problems that are unpredictable in nature in an efficient and practical manner.
• Analyse and compare a range of solutions and provide the most suitable response for each individual problem.
• Liaise with all members of the Section and Department, and with Medical, Nursing, Professional, Technical and Clerical staff working with unsealed sources within the Trust.
• Assume other duties as may from time to time be required as consequence of developing working practices and techniques.
• Carry out training sessions for diverse staff groups that may occasionally come into contact with radioactive materials as part of their work, transport drivers, porters etc. (up to 20 staff at one time).

Person Specification:

• Understanding legal framework for safe and effective use of radioactive materials in clinical work, including Ionising Radiations Regulations (IRR17), Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations.
• Evidence of knowledge of underpinning scientific theory behind various nuclear medicine examinations.
• Have experience of specialist image processing software for Nuclear Medicine Imaging.

Additional Requirements:

• Use database, word processing and spreadsheet for data analysis and report production where accuracy is important.
• Ability to set up, calibrate and operate expensive and highly complex equipment used in Nuclear Medicine.
• Manual dexterity to enable manipulation of small sources and pipetting etc.

Qualifications:

• Good (1st or 2nd class) honours degree in physical sciences.
• Masters (MSc) in medical physics [or relevant subject area].
• HCPC registered Clinical Scientist or is able to be registered within a year of taking up the post.
• PhD in relevant subject.

Skills & behaviours:

• Problem solving using own initiative and in partnership with others.
• To think laterally to solve problems, and in particular, to apply specialist scientific knowledge to provide innovative solutions to clinical problems.
• Plan and organise own workload/research projects.
• Ability to accept responsibility within a team structure, relates well to people at all levels.
• Ability to manage change in a complex environment.
• Ability to work flexibly and proactively, accepting the need for change and adjusting their own behaviour easily to changing circumstances and targets.
• A critical approach to one's own work, seeks and welcomes feedback from others.
• Ability to work unsupervised.
• Good interpersonal skills and effective oral and written communication skills.
• Establishes and responds to user needs and requirements.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.