Assistant Psychologist in Oxford

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the country. It provides a wide range of general and specialist clinical services and is a base for medical education, training and research.

The Trust comprises of four hospitals - the John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury.

Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community. We call thisDelivering Compassionate Excellenceand its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence.

Many of our recruitment programmes useValue Based Interviewingto identify those who have the skills we seek, who share our values and who are able to deliver compassionate excellence from the outset. We know that this makes a significant difference to your job satisfaction and above all the outcomes and experience of our patients and their families. For more information about our Values and Value Based Interviewing please visit www.ouh.nhs.uk/about/vision-and-values

Job overview

We are looking for an experienced Assistant Psychologist to join the Department of Clinical Neuropsychology at the Oxford Centre for Enablement (OCE). The Clinical Neuropsychology service is part of the Trust wide Psychological medicine service. You will support the work of the Clinical Neuropsychology department in the Neurorehabilitation service at the OCE, working with adults with acquired brain injury and a wide range of long-term and complex neurological conditions, their families and carers. You will be carrying out neuropsychological assessments and delivering individual interventions and group work.

Main duties of the job

You will be working with in-patients, with opportunities to work with out-patients and families. You will also contribute to staff teaching and training, departmental and service development projects, research and clinical audit as opportunities arise. You will receive regular supervision and opportunities for CPD. We are seeking applications from people who have prior paid experience as an Assistant Psychologist in a neuropsychological setting (as such it is essential that you are proficient in administering and scoring a wide range of neuropsychological assessments). This post will offer you the opportunity to expand your existing experience of neuropsychological assessment with the chance to be involved in the supervised design and implementation of a range of Neurorehabilitation interventions. You will be organised, enthusiastic, hardworking and efficient; you will be able to work independently (with supervision) but also enjoy working within a team. You will also have good organisational and administrative skills alongside your clinical experience. You will have a honours degree in Psychology (2:1 or above) and be eligible for graduate membership of the BPS.

Working for our organisation

Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community. We call thisDelivering Compassionate Excellenceand its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence. These values put patients at the heart of what we do and underpin the quality healthcare we would like for ourselves or a member of our family. Watch how we set out to deliver compassionate excellence via the OUH YouTube channel .

The Trust comprises of four hospitals - the John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the country. It provides a wide range of general and specialist clinical services and is a base for medical education, training and research. Find out more here www.ouh.nhs.uk

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

MAIN PURPOSE OF THE POST:

To support and enhance the professional psychological care of clients within the service, their families and carers, across all sectors of care; providing psychological / neuropsychological assessment and neurorehabilitation / psychological interventions under the supervision of a qualified professional clinical psychologist, working independently and with initiative according to a plan agreed with a qualified clinical psychologist and within the overall framework of departmental and occupational guidelines and the OCE team’s policies and procedures. To support the department in undertaking clinically and service related administration, clinical audits, collection of statistics, development of audit and/or research projects, teaching and project work. To participate in clinical supervision at agreed intervals to plan and assess results.

WORKING ENVIRONMENT

The working environment is a specialist NHS service for people with acquired brain injury and a wide range of long term and complex neurological conditions. This environment involves frequent exposure to emotionally demanding situations. There is also possible exposure to aggressive and disinhibited behaviour. Working in this environment requires intense concentration and excellent interpersonal skills.

KEY RESULT AREAS

Clinical:

• To undertake protocol based psychological assessments of clients applying psychological / neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members, including children and others involved in the client’s care. Assessments require in-depth knowledge of psychological and statistical principles and the characteristics of particular test administration procedures and their statistical properties, and to make detailed qualitative observations of test behaviours to inform qualified Clinical Psychologists judgements, within a context of clinical supervision by qualified clinical psychologists. As an integral part of neuropsychological assessment, to simultaneously exercise well-developed manual skills (i.e. accurate manipulation of a wide range of neuropsychological test materials, including physical materials, touch-screen computer tests), in which accuracy is important and it is often necessary to take account of interfering factors (such as patient distractibility, or level of comprehension).

2. To assist in the formulation and delivery of care plans involving the psychological treatment and/or management of a client’s problems, under the supervision of a qualified clinical psychologist, primarily in an in-patient setting and in an out-patient setting as required.

• To provide a wide variety of neuropsychological / psychological interventions with individuals, families, carers and staff groups under clinical supervision.
• To assist and to take the lead in the coordination, running and evaluation of different therapeutic groups.

5. To provide orientation to inpatients within the unit and contribute to the maintenance and continual improvement of the inpatient rehabilitative therapeutic environment.

6. To work with other staff to assess both inpatients and outpatients and to review their care and needs in preparation for multi-disciplinary goal planning and reviews.

7. To attend and to contribute to appropriate multidisciplinary goal planning and other meetings and to assist in the development of a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings where care takes place.

8. To produce patient reports and summaries under supervision in a timely fashion and to maintain high record keeping standards.

9. To communicate effectively, empathically and clearly with patients, families and carers regarding neuropsychological and psychological matters which will regularly be complicated (such as explanation of neuropsychological principles or abilities and disabilities), and will often be in an emotive atmosphere (such as communicating with patients with life-threatening conditions, traumatic experiences or psychological disorders), and which may require managing difficulties in understanding (such as cognitive deficits), or overcoming communication difficulties with patients, family or carers who are hostile, antagonistic, highly anxious, displaying risk behaviours or acutely mentally unwell etc.

10. In carrying out the duties of the post, to exercise high levels of mental concentration for prolonged periods (for example in neuropsychological assessments of up to 4+ hours), which can involve significant emotional concentration (for example in working with people/families/carers with life-threatening conditions , or in significant psychological distress), while sitting in a constrained position for extended periods, and also to make use of well-developed manual skills (in for example, manipulation of test materials, as well as keyboard skills, and operation of electronic equipment).

11. In carrying out the duties of the post, to cope with and manage challenging behaviour occasionally, including verbal abuse and risk of physical aggression (for example from patients with frontal lobe impairment, people with learning disability or chronic and enduring mental illness).

Teaching, training and supervision:

1. In common with all clinical and assistant psychologists, to receive regular clinical supervision in accordance with professional practice guidelines.

2. To gain wider experience of professional psychology within the NHS over and above that provided within the principal service area where the post holder is employed.

3. To develop skills and competencies that assist in the delivery of current duties.

4. To contribute to the training and support of other staff in psychological care and to provide teaching to the wider community under supervision.

5. To attend courses

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