Senior Clinical Psychologist in Burns

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Detailed job description and main responsibilities

KEY RESULT AREAS

Clinical:

1. To provide highly specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the client's care. To analyse and interpret patient data in a time sensitive manner; ensuring assessment and treatment plans are adaptable to the current situation.

2. To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a client's mental health problems that have been impacted or caused by their burn injury or the witnessing of a burn incident, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the client's problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings. This is likely to include specific interventions to treat posttraumatic stress disorder and appearance-related distress.

3. To be responsible for implementing a range of highly complex psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across teams employed individually and in synthesis, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.

4. To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.

5. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the highly specialist assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.

6. To provide highly specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients' formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.

7. To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group.

8. To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.

9. To act as care coordinator, where appropriate, taking responsibility for initiating planning and review of care plans under enhanced CPA including clients, their carers, referring agents and others involved the network of care.

10. To communicate in a highly skilled and sensitive manner, complex information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care. To use highly skilled interpersonal communication, recognizing that the environment may be hostile and/or sensitive depending on the nature of the burn incident.

Teaching, training, and supervision

1. To receive regular clinical professional supervision from a senior clinical psychologist and, where appropriate, other senior professional colleagues.

2. To develop skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision and to provide supervision to other MDT staff's psychological work, as appropriate.

3. To provide specialist clinical placements for psychologists in training when possible.

4. To teach and support trainees to facilitate their acquisition of required clinical competencies and research skills and to continue to the assessment and evaluation of these competencies.

5. To provide professional and clinical supervision of assistant/graduate psychologists and, as appropriate, to contribute to the supervision of individual cases for trainee clinical psychologists.

6. To contribute to the pre- and post-qualification teaching of clinical and/or counselling psychology, as required by the head of specialty.

7. To provide advice, consultation and training to staff working with the client group across a range of agencies and settings, where appropriate.

Management, recruitment, policy and service development

1. To actively participate in the development, evaluation and monitoring of the team's operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.

2. To advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.

3. To manage the workloads of assistant and graduate psychologists, within the framework of the team/service's policies and procedures.

4. To be involved, as appropriate, in the shortlisting and interviewing of assistant/graduate psychologists.

5. To provide clinical and management supervision of assistant psychologists and trainees as appropriate within the Burns Psychology service.

6. To represent the Burns Psychology service at senior level meetings, supporting the Lead Psychologist and acting autonomously in the absence of the Lead Psychologist.

Research and service evaluation

1. To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual work and work with other team members.

2. To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research, in line with supporting the organisation's research objectives.

3. To participate in the preparation of clinical and research data for publication in academic journals and presentation at scientific meetings.

4. Where appropriate to collaborate with relevant academic, medical staff and allied health professionals in conducting research relevant to the clinical areas and for improving service development.

5. To undertake project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within the service to help develop service provision.

6. To familiarise themselves with, and to comply with, the Trust's requirements on research governance.

IT responsibilities (other than those used for research)

1. To enter data as required into patient records systems such as LastWord (EPR), Evolve and Cerner.

2. To maintain personal records including clinical observations, test and research results and work records in computerised and manual forms.

3. To enter data into spreadsheets as required including statistical programmes and to carry out high level statistical processing of data.

4. The post holder will engage in relevant computer and IT training as required.

5. The post holder will be responsible for ensuring that those psychologists they are responsible for/supervise engage in relevant computer and IT training as required and will input and maintain, appropriate computer and manual clinical records and statistical data.

General

1. To contribute to the development, and dissemination of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the post holder's professional and service manager(s).

2. To contribute to the development and articulation of best practice in psychology across the service, by continuing to develop the skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the field of clinical psychology and related disciplines.

3. To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of practice of the British Psychological Society and Trust policies and procedures.

4. To actively participate and contribute to regularly scheduled education meetings of Burns Psychology, Clinical Health Psychology, Paediatric Psychology meetings and the LSEBN Psychosocial network.

5. To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific client group and mental health.

6. To frequently require high levels of concentration, processing of complex clinical information, including end of life care. To rapidly adapt the psychological intervention according to clinical presentation.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology (or its equivalent), including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by the British Psychological Society or British Psychological Society Statement of Equivalence
• Health and Care Professions Council registration as a Practitioner Psychologist.

Desirable criteria

• Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
• Post-doctoral training in a relevant field

Experience

Essential criteria

• Significant experience of working as a qualified clinical psychologist, including experience of working in a health care setting
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment across lifespan
• Experience of working with multi-disciplinary teams in physical health
• Strong professional interest in the link between physical and mental health
• Knowledge of specialised assessment and therapeutic approaches in trauma and appearance distress
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with physical health problems in a hospital based setting (inpatient/outpatient)
• Experience in the application of psychological approaches for different social and cultural groups
• Experience of working with adults and children who have experienced physical injury and the associated social and psychological implications of injury and rehabilitation
• Experience of supervising psychologists (including trainees) and having completed the relevant training
• Experience of providing teaching and training to psychologists and other professional groups.
• Experience of working with, and addressing issues of, diversity including experience of working within a multicultural framework
• Experience of proposing and implementing service development projects within own service area
• Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the HCPC (

Desirable criteria

• Experience of carrying out post-doctoral research, audit and other service evaluation projects
• Post-doctoral training in a relevant field
• Experience of staff recruitment and selection
• Experience of working in a burns unit, ICU or other acute setting
• Experience of liaison with other health professionals.
• Experience of successful development of business cases leading to the commissioning of new services

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, highly technical, and clinically sensitive information to clients, relevant individuals from their wider systems, and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
• Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of delivering psychological interventions to specific groups and communities (e.g. individuals who identify as BAME)
• Ability to work effectively within a multidisciplinary team setting at a high level, hold leadership role and contribute to effective team functioning
• A capacity to establish priorities and organise workload effectively and efficiently
• Skills as a senior clinician to undertake clinical leadership roles and tasks within a multidisciplinary context
• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration

Desirable criteria

• Experience of leading specific projects within a clinical service
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc).
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.
• Experience of providing day to day management and support to junior psychologists

OTHER

Essential criteria

• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
• A capacity to establish priorities and organise workload effectively and efficiently
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour

CNWL (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust) has almost 8,000 staff providing integrated healthcare to a third of London's population, Milton Keynes and areas beyond. We involve service users, carers, the public, staff and partner organisations in the way that we are run.

Our catchment area spans diverse communities, with over 100 first languages spoken. It contains areas of great affluence as well as areas of much deprivation. We are committed to providing services that meet the needs of the people who use them, and we actively encourage involvement from local people who can help make a difference. We're proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME and people with disabilities to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.

We are recognised locally, nationally and internationally for providing high quality, innovative healthcare. We aim to employ only the best people, and our experts are frequently called upon to contribute to national health strategy and policy, and many models of our care have been adapted for use in other countries.

We offer a generous relocation package (subject to eligibility assessment) and flexible working options, including bank assignments for most roles. See attached Staff Reward and Wellbeing Handbook detailing our benefits, discounts and wellbeing initiatives for staff.

Become part of our team. We care for you as much as you care for others.

CNWL NHS Foundation Trust are committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices to protect children and vulnerable adults.

Due to the high response levels we receive for some vacancies, we may expire any of them prior to the advertised closing date and advise you to submit your application as soon as possible.

Our Agenda for Change employment contracts are subject to a contractual 13 week probationary period.

If you are offered a job, information will be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

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.

Documents to download

• Burns 8A Job Description (PDF, 176.4KB)
• Burns 8A Person Specification (PDF, 376.4KB)
• CNWL Staff Networks (PDF, 320.0KB)
• CNWL Values (PDF, 182.9KB)
• CNWL Reward and Wellbeing Handbook 2020 (PDF, 1.1MB)
• CNWL Staff Charter (PDF, 684.7KB)
• CNWL Culture SCARF Behaviour Framework (PDF, 710.2KB)