Trainee Advance Clinical Practitioner

Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Trainee Advanced Clinical Practitioner (TACP) in Specialist Palliative Care to join our multidisciplinary team at Priscilla Bacon Lodge.

This developmental Band 7 role offers an experienced registered nurse the opportunity to progress towards autonomous advanced clinical practice. You will be supported to complete a Master's pathway and develop the advanced clinical knowledge, assessment and decision-making skills required for the role. On successful completion of the Master's programme and required competencies, the post will progress to Band 8a.

Working alongside medical, nursing and wider multidisciplinary colleagues, you will provide holistic care for patients with complex specialist palliative care needs and contribute to developing patient pathways and the ACP model. As your training and competence progress, you will also develop towards participation in the inpatient unit's non-resident on-call rota.

We are looking for a compassionate, motivated and clinically experienced nurse who is passionate about palliative care and ready to take the next step into advanced clinical practice.

Main duties of the job
As a Trainee Advanced Clinical Practitioner, you will work closely with the specialist palliative care multidisciplinary team while developing the knowledge, skills and competencies required for autonomous advanced clinical practice.

You will develop your advanced assessment, clinical reasoning, decision-making and management skills in the care of patients with complex palliative care needs. You will contribute to the daily consultant-led ward round, multidisciplinary working, continuity of care and the ongoing development of the inpatient service.

Alongside your clinical development, you will contribute to clinical leadership, audit, research and quality improvement.

We are looking for an experienced registered nurse who can demonstrate:

• excellent communication skills, including the ability to have sensitive conversations with patients and families
• experience of caring for patients with complex needs
• an ability to work autonomously while recognising professional boundaries and when to seek support
• strong clinical assessment and decision-making skills
• leadership, teaching and mentoring skills
• a commitment to evidence-based practice and continuous quality improvement
• a compassionate, organised, adaptable and motivated approach

About us
You will be joining the Specialist Palliative Care team at Priscilla Bacon Lodge, working alongside medical, nursing and allied health professional colleagues to provide specialist care for people with complex palliative care needs.

We are committed to compassionate, personalised care that promotes dignity, choice and involvement of patients and those important to them.

We value collaboration, learning and continuous improvement. As a Trainee ACP, you will be supported to develop your advanced practice expertise and contribute your experience and ideas to the service. You will also have opportunities to connect with the wider ACP network across the Trust, supporting shared learning and professional development.

Please be aware that East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust will never ask applicants to pay fees at any stage of the recruitment process, including job applications, sponsorship arrangements, or employment offers. All recruitment communications and job applications should only be made through our official careers website and published contact details.

If you receive a suspicious job offer or recruitment-related communication, do not make any payments, share personal information, or provide identity documents. We encourage you to report the matter to your local police or relevant law enforcement agency. Any concerns relating to potential recruitment fraud should also be reported to our Local Counter Fraud Specialist (LCFS) as soon as possible.

Details
Band: Band 7
Salary: £49,387 to £56,515 a year per annum
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 839-8377832-PG

Job responsibilities
The Trainee Advanced Clinical Practitioner will undertake a supported programme of development towards autonomous advanced clinical practice within the specialist palliative care inpatient service at Priscilla Bacon Lodge.

The postholder will progressively develop responsibility for comprehensive clinical assessment, history taking and physical examination, advanced clinical reasoning, differential diagnosis and the development of appropriate treatment and management plans. This will include requesting and interpreting investigations and assessing and managing patients whose condition may be changing or deteriorating, within their developing scope of competence.

Key responsibilities will include:

• undertaking comprehensive assessment and ongoing review of patients with complex specialist palliative care needs
• developing advanced clinical examination, diagnostic reasoning and decision-making skills
• requesting and interpreting appropriate investigations within scope of practice
• developing and implementing evidence-based treatment and management plans
• medicines management and prescribing within the postholder's competence and prescribing authority
• recognising and responding to deterioration, including appropriate escalation for medical review
• contributing to advance care planning and complex decision-making where escalation to acute hospital care may not be appropriate
• supporting admission, discharge and continuity of care, including effective communication with primary care and other services
• providing leadership and support within the daily consultant-led ward round and contributing to the weekly multidisciplinary team meeting
• maintaining accurate and timely clinical documentation
• develop towards participation in the non-resident first on-call rota as training and competencies are achieved, with Consultant support

The postholder will work collaboratively with nursing, medical and allied health professional colleagues, General Practitioners, primary and secondary care services and other agencies to coordinate high-quality, person-centred care.

Alongside direct clinical care, the TACP will contribute to clinical leadership, governance and service development, including clinical audit, research and quality improvement, supporting the development of colleagues and contributing to the development of patient pathways and specialist palliative care services.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential:

• Registered Nurse on the appropriate part of the NMC register
• Degree in Healthcare
• Willingness to undertake Masters programme

Desirable:

• Post-registration qualification in palliative care/oncology

Experience
Essential:

• Experience working within specialist palliative care, hospice, or oncology nursing
• Experience of working to protocols and guidelines
• Evidence of on-going personal and professional development
• Previous experience of developing clinical guidelines and clinical care pathways
• Experience of clinical audit
• Evidence of successful management of change

Desirable:

• Understands the wider issues impacting on the provision of palliative care, e.g. The End of Life Care Strategy, NICE Guidance, NHS Cancer Plan; previous experience in research e.g. clinical trials, own research projects

Skills, Abilities and Knowledge
Essential:

• Ability to work autonomously and manage own workload
• Management of patients with complex needs
• Advanced communication skills
• Clinical examination skills
• Accountability of own role and other roles in an ACP-led service
• Management and Leadership skills / effective change agent
• Evidence of advanced clinical practice
• Awareness of the need to focus on continuous quality improvement

Desirable:

• Ability to deliver psychological assessment and support to a minimum of Level 2 as outlined in NICE Supportive and Palliative Care Guidelines

Communication
Essential:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills using the English language
• Ability to communicate with patients and families regarding diagnosis, treatment and care planning
• Negotiation and conflict management skills

Personal and People Development
Essential:

• Teaching and mentoring skills

Personal attributes and behaviours
Essential:

• Awareness and understanding of the NHS issues relevant to advanced clinical practice
• Understanding of the Clinical Governance Framework
• Aware of the political and organisational drivers that impact on the service

Other
Essential:

• Ability to be creative, innovative and adaptable
• Organised and motivated
• Flexibility to work evenings and weekends in order to meet service needs
• Willingness to work flexibly to meet the needs of the inpatient unit, including occasional evening, weekend and bank holiday cover
• Must hold full and valid driving licence and have access to a vehicle

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact:
Head of Palliative Care and Admin Services, Lauren Isaacs, lauren.isaacs@nhs.net