Roald Dahl Paediatric CNS for Epilepsy (Surgical)

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Band 7 Paediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist in Surgical Epilepsy at Denmark Hill Site. We are seeking a highly motivated, enthusiastic, forward-thinking individual to join the multi-disciplinary team. We provide a high-quality service caring for babies, children, and young people and their families living with epilepsy.

The role involves working within a seamless specialist neurology and neurosurgical nursing service aimed at continuously improving standards of patient care and facilitating multi-professional working. This will be achieved through clinical practice, management, education, research, audit, and professional activities, taking into account directorate, corporate, and national policy and within the clinical governance framework.

Main duties of the job

• Provide care, support, advice, and education for children and young people with a diagnosis of epilepsy
• Support the epilepsy surgical service, supporting children undergoing surgical procedures both pre and post-operatively
• Develop an autonomous nursing service and progress advanced clinical care of children with epilepsy
• Lead and innovate nursing practice for children with epilepsy and their parents through newly diagnosed educational sessions
• Take responsibility for the safety and quality of data collection on newly diagnosed epilepsy patients
• Take a key role in the development of healthcare professionals and their ability to manage epilepsy through the delivery of formal and informal education/training, and through review of their care delivery
• Provide professional, high-quality, coordinated, and holistic care to children and their families, aiming to improve the management of their long-term condition, within agreed protocols and allocated resources, together with colleagues
• Provide appropriate information, education, advice, and support, particularly to patients and parents
• Be an expert resource that provides sound clinical advice and judgment to patients and their families, and healthcare colleagues in acute, community, and primary care settings

Clinical Practice

• Provide nursing support for children and young people with epilepsy on the epilepsy surgery pathway
• Establish a pre-assessment clinic supporting children, young people, and their families with information regarding planned surgery, explaining information, and answering questions
• Support the growth and development of the VNS service as part of a nurse-led program
• Offer an epilepsy service that aligns with nationally recognized protocols and policies, including NICE Quality Standards, to ensure children and young people receive the best possible care according to their needs
• Support the safe and early discharge of epilepsy patients from hospital by providing education, supervision, and follow-up clinics post-discharge, either by telephone or face-to-face
• Support primary care colleagues in the management of children and young people with epilepsy within their own service by offering training and education in one-to-one or group settings
• Support the mental health needs of children with epilepsy by identifying needs, supporting them where possible, and referring them to the integrated mental health intervention resource where necessary
• Establish and maintain individual and team communication networks within primary and secondary care settings to ensure multi-disciplinary and multi-agency epilepsy educational programs

Clinical Practice Leadership

• Contribute positively to the leadership of nursing within the care group, acting as an effective role model, supporting the senior nursing team in implementing Trust initiatives and strategies
• Develop effective working relationships based on trust and open co-operation
• Contribute to the development of nursing practice within the team
• Participate in relevant fora at Care Group, Trust, or PCG/PCT or National/International Level to represent the service perspective, as appropriate, ensuring that you are fully conversant with current issues

Training, Education, and Practice Development

• Act as a clinical expert and advise on educational opportunities that will facilitate the development and support of others' specialist knowledge and skills to ensure they develop their clinical practice
• Create an environment in which clinical practice development is fostered, evaluated, and disseminated
• Work with the Child Health Practice Development Team to lead and develop programs of education and practice developments to enhance the nursing contribution and quality of care, both across the Trust, nationally, and internationally
• Identify specialist learning activities in a clinical setting that contribute to clinical teaching and assessment of learning in a multi-disciplinary environment, within the scope of expertise and knowledge base
• Ensure effective learning experiences and opportunities to achieve learning outcomes for students through preceptorship, mentorship, counseling, clinical supervision, and provision of an educational environment
• Work with academic colleagues to improve practice within a range of service/practice developments

Research, Evidence-Based Practice, and Audit

• Promote and facilitate research, evidence-based practice, and clinical audit within the Trust, raising the profile, enhancing the contribution of nursing to patient care, and informing business and service development plans
• Contribute to clinical audit, in particular, involving service users in providing feedback, ensuring patient experience surveys are completed, and action plans developed
• Contribute to nursing research initiatives and support research activity within individual Care Groups and also through collaboration with other agencies
• Apply and disseminate research findings relating to specialist nursing practice
• Participate and assist with any Trust-approved research projects conducted within the department
• Ensure that the rights of patients, and others, are protected at all times when involved in audit and research studies
• Collate and record agreed activity data, and evidence of service provision, to measure the effectiveness and impact of the service