Job Description
This exciting permanent position is ideal for anyone with an interest in neurosciences and/or experience in enteral nutrition support.
This specialist role will support the department to deliver high quality care to patients being treated on the Neurosciences inpatient ward and outpatient clinics.
You will work within an experienced team of eight dietitians in neurosciences, critical care and emergency surgery. You will be well supported by a Team Lead Dietitian with extensive neuro and critical care experience, as well as the wider nutrition and dietetic department. You will work closely with the neuro MDT, specialist nurses and nutrition nurse who all value and respect the role of the Dietitian.
We encourage every Band 6 to protect 20% of their time within the role to development, both individually and as a service.
As a valued member of our team, you will receive:
- Flexible working, including opportunities for home working
- Clinical supervision and support from experienced and specialist dietitians
- Dedicated time for professional and service development
- Regular appraisals and personalised development plan
- Access to a range of CPD opportunities, the Oxford AHPs Research & Innovation Unit, and Bodleian Library collection.
Provide a dietetic service to patients treated within the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust (OUHT). This involves working as an integral member of the dietetic team to provide a flexible, prioritised service based on clinical need.
Contribute to the provision of a specialist, evidence based dietetic service to:
- Neurosciences Inpatient Unit, including a high care, neurosurgical and neuromedical inpatients
- Neuro Outpatient clinic
- Nutrition MDT clinic for pre-admission PEGs assessments
- Cover for leave and support of other team members as required but specifically to Neuro ICU.
Educate, train, and disseminate information to healthcare professionals including clinicians, nurses, allied health professionals, dietetic colleagues, and students about the dietetic management of Neuroscience patients.
Participate and play a key role with other specialist dietitians in the development of evidence-based trust-wide multidisciplinary nutrition guidelines and policies.
Participate in departmental audits, quality improvement projects and service development.
Act as a source of expertise for local dietetic colleagues and nationally regarding the nutritional management of the identified patient groups.
Be an integrated member of the Dietetic team as a whole, providing help, support and cover to the team where appropriate. Participate in and contribute to service development, departmental working groups and attend staff meetings.
OUH is a world-renowned centre of clinical excellence and one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the UK. We employ approximately 12,500 staff (including ~850 AHP staff).
The acute adult dietetics team is made up of ~45 Dietitians, plus, assistants and admin support. There are 7 acute clinical teams, each responsible for providing a service to specialist clinical areas while working collaboratively across all OUH sites.
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 this Delivering Compassionate Excellence and 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. Find out more here www.ouh.nhs.uk
This position is based at the John Radcliffe Hospital based in Headington, Oxford. Headington, roughly 3 miles from the centre of Oxford, has exceptional public transport to and from the hospital. If you are considering relocating, please contact the recruitment team who will be happy to assist with advice. Oxford is well known for its University but aside from being drenched in academic history its city centre has recently had a redevelopment including a new shopping centre and a selection of new bars and restaurants, it has something for everyone!
CLINICAL
Be professionally and legally accountable for own work and caseload.
Work as an integral member of the multidisciplinary team to ensure a holistic approach to patient care. This involves attending ward rounds, case conferences and regular team meetings.
Organise own workload: prioritising and balancing patient-related and professional demands and contributing to the effectiveness of the team.
To judge and determine the appropriateness of referrals made by members of the multidisciplinary team to ensure effective use of time and resources.
Assess patient’s diagnosis, medical care and biochemistry making decisions as to who needs dietary management.
Obtain and analyse relevant information from different sources including clinicians’ medical notes, nursing notes, electronic patient records, the client, ward staff and/or carer’s, to make a comprehensive assessment of the patient’s condition, prognosis, and treatment plans so that a decision on the most appropriate dietetic treatment to support this can be made in the short and long term.
Interpret and monitor biochemical data.
Calculate nutritional requirements using specific assessment tools and calculations. To remain up to date with the literature and ensure that this is an evidence-based process and clinically relevant to the neurosciences and critically ill patient groups.
Advise on appropriate artificial feeding routes for patients both via the enteral and parenteral routes.
Formulate individualised patient care plans, artificial feeding regimens and parenteral nutrition prescriptions, taking into consideration factors which may affect requirements or help/hinder provision of nutrition support such as: prescribed drugs, biochemical derangements etc. Within the care plan this would include nutritional supplements, specialist feeds, need for added micronutrients.
Evaluate the effectiveness of nutritional goals and modify these goals and care plans as necessary based on ongoing analysis, assessment of information available and changing patient needs.
Use communication techniques i.e. behavioural change and motivational interviewing to work with patients.
Communicate effectively and sensitively with patients, carers, and other health professionals. Skills of persuasion, motivation, explanation and gaining consent may be used in a wide variety of different, sometimes sensitive, situations. It is important to be able to communicate complex information at an appropriate level. Barriers to communication may be evident e.g. loss of sight, loss of hearing, lack of English, both written and spoken, requiring the use of translators. The use of communication aids such as letter/picture boards, light-writers may be necessary.
To be sensitive to the religious and ethnic needs of patients' dietary requirements and have an understanding of foods eaten by multicultural populations and how they impact on hospital catering.
Liaise and advise catering staff for meal and snack provision appropriate for your patient group within the constraints of the cook chill system. This can involve multicultural requirements and/or other dietary needs for example, gluten free.
To be actively involved with the development of evidence based, trust-wide guidelines - to be a resource to other dietitians, writing and compiling diet sheets, protocols, and advice.
To cover for other dietitians when sickness or leave necessitates.
To be an active member of the bank holiday on-call service
Any other duties that may from time to time be allocated by the Team Leader and Acute Dietetic Service Manager
PROFESSIONAL
Be accountable for standards of conduct, performance, professional Ethics and standards of proficiency as set out in the Health Care Professions Council and the British Dietetic Association's Professional Standards for Dietitians.
To take responsibility for own continuing professional development (CPD) and providing evidence for this by maintaining a CPD portfolio in line with HCPC standards and maintaining HCPC registration. CPD involves critical evaluation of scientific papers, attending professional development meetings, working as a reflective practitioner and attending relevant internal/external courses.
Participate in annual appraisal, identifying own development and training needs and setting personal development objectives with line manager.
To participate in departmental audits and initiate audits within own work area in order to monitor and evaluate whether local/ national standards are being met and make recommendations for change. To be involved with the planning of departmental clinical effectiveness and audit strategies.
Actively participate in the dietetic student training program, facilitating the development of skills and knowledge, being involved in the assessment process, and acting as a mentor to students.
To mentor, supervise and enable Dietitians on the Band 5 rotation working in this speciality.
To provide specialist advice, teaching and training to all members of the multidisciplinary team, regarding the nutritional management of patients. This involves participation in in-house training courses e.g. new staff nurses orientation program and advanced nursing courses. Also, to participate in external training/teaching when requested.
ORGANISATIONAL
To determine priorities for own work area based on clinical need and balance patient caseload with professional demands.
To collect data as required by the department, trust and outside agencies.
To maintain accurate and up to date documentation of patient interventions. To communicate dietetic interventions to appropriate members of the multidisciplinary team by documentation within electronic nursing/medical notes or by means of generating a letter/report.
To be involved with setting agenda items, chairing and taking minutes for departmental and clinical team meetings, when required.
Apply
Go Back