Diabetes Specialist Nurse

The post holder will be a junior nurse aiming to become a diabetes specialist nurse. The post will involve training, to deliver evidence-based care, education, and information to people with diabetes and their families referred from Primary Care or from within Whittington Health. The post holder will be expected to cover community clinics, structured group education sessions and home visits where required. Additionally, the post holder will be an integral part of the wider multi-disciplinary team. The clinical base will cover both Islington and Haringey.

Main duties of the job:

• To work as a practitioner and be responsible for an identified caseload of patients beyond the expertise of general practice.
• To be a resource in diabetes to healthcare professionals, people with diabetes and their carers.
• To work in collaboration with all members of the multidisciplinary healthcare team to promote excellent standards of care to people with diabetes in line with evidence-based practice.
• To reduce inappropriate referrals to hospital and facilitate the shift of diabetes care to the community.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities:

• CLINICAL RESPONSIBILITIES
• Post training to demonstrate an appropriate level of clinical competence in diabetes management; based on in-depth knowledge, research, and evidence-based findings.
• Plan and manage nurse-led diabetes clinics in partnership with key Allied Health Professionals, working in conjunction with secondary and community services for people with complex needs and uncontrolled diabetes.
• Demonstrate high level of clinical practice through direct referral, comprehensive client-centred assessments, initiate therapeutic regimes and evaluation of practice using approved protocols.
• Be responsible and accountable as a Named Nurse for a caseload of new and complex patients for a limited time, working in tandem with colleagues in primary care, ensuring their skills are developed to a point where such patients can be safely discharged to primary care.
• Provide evidence-based clinical advice on diabetes management to people with diabetes, their carers and health care professionals.
• To work to promote good practice in diabetes care by offering leadership, guidance, education and mentorship to primary health care professionals.
• Support people with diabetes and their carers to achieve individualised goals and care planning to maintain their physical and psychological wellbeing, encouraging self-management.
• EDUCATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
• Act as an educational resource to support and facilitate the health care professionals across both boroughs for the delivery of comprehensive diabetes care.
• Support the planning, delivery, and evaluation of diabetes courses at different levels for trained and untrained staff with particular emphasis on improving the quality of diabetes care.
• Participate in group education programmes for people with diabetes at different times in their disease process i.e., newly diagnosed Type 2, insulin initiation and ongoing care, to ensure that both physical and psychological aspects of diabetes self-management are addressed.
• Develop appropriate material to facilitate the education programmes for people with diabetes in different languages thereby reaching the maximum amount of people and reducing inequalities and access to diabetes services.
• To liaise closely with the local diabetes peer support groups and voluntary community groups to facilitate and engage users to become involved with planning services, education, and awareness campaigns.
• Maintain own knowledge and expertise by attending conferences, workshops, and study days.
• Always act in accordance with the NMC, Codes of Professional Conduct and Scope of Professional Practice.
• LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES
• Ensure accurate and timely recording of all workload activity via patient information systems to inform analysis of service delivery and continued service development by submitting statistical returns and compiling reports as necessary or when required.
• Contribute to the compilation of reports and presentations about the service and present to appropriate groups.
• Promote the quality of the services to our local population and colleagues through leadership, evidence-based practice and clinical governance.
• Share responsibilities for the day-to-day running of the Diabetes Service clinics and ensuring adequate service provision.
• To contribute in the development of strategies, protocols and policies that impact on the future service provisions and care in line with national policy.
• To develop and maintain a network of contacts involved in diabetes care both with and outside the organisation.
• Establish and facilitate a process of audit to ensure high quality diabetes care is being delivered locally to patients.
• Participate in the process of audit and evaluation for the Diabetes Service. Identify gaps in service provision and discuss steps to manage any identified problem areas with the Diabetes specialist Nurse (Operational Lead).

Person specification:

• Education / Qualifications: Willingness to undertake recognised diabetes training and competency framework. Evidence of training at degree level.
• Skills & Abilities: Ability to work autonomously but also as a team member and promote collaborative multi-disciplinary and multi-agency working. Computer and IT skills - Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, RIO. Advanced skills in the assessment and treatment of clients' diabetes.
• Personal Qualities: Ability to be flexible, adaptable and reliable. Must be able to demonstrate behaviours consistent with the Trust's Values and Behaviours. Evidence of commitment and responsibility to personal and professional development.
• Other: Clear understanding of Clinical Governance. You must have appropriate UK professional registration. This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.