Job Specification and Terms and Conditions
Job Title and Grade
Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) Respiratory Medicine
(Grade Code 2632)
Competition
Reference
NRS0215
Closing Date
12 Noon, Friday 10th December 2010
Proposed Interview
Date(s)
Taking up
Appointment
21st & 22nd December 2010
Location of Post
Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore Co Offaly
The successful candidate will be required to take up duty no
later than three months from date of offer for external
applicants or no later than six weeks from date of offer for HSE
internal applicants.
Organisational Area
HSE – Dublin Mid Leinster
Details of Service
Reporting
Relationship
Candidates may obtain specific details of the individual service from
the following manager.
Ms Clare O’Dea Divisional Nurse Manager Medical Division
Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore Co Offaly Tel No:-0579321501
Bleep 321
Reports to:
Director of Nursing and Divisional Nurse Manager Medical division
Purpose of the Post
The Clinical Nurse Specialist, Respiratory Nursing (CNS) will be part
of the multidisciplinary team involved in the care for patients with
respiratory conditions. The CNS, will have a major clinical focus,
both directly and indirectly in relation to patients suffering from
respiratory conditions. She/he will work closely with medical, nursing
and allied health professionals to provide optimal clinical care
underpinned by best practice guidelines. He/she will act as a role
model and clinical expert embracing the philosophy of nursing and
the principals of care/case management in the delivery of care.
Principal Duties and
Responsibilities
Clinical focus
The CNS will:
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Articulate and demonstrate the concept of nursing specialist
practice within the framework of relevant legislation, Scope
of Nursing & Midwifery Practice Framework (ABS 2000) and
the Code of Professional Conduct (ABA 2000)
Perform nursing assessments and plan and initiate care and
treatment modalities within agreed interdisciplinary protocols
to achieve patient / client centred outcomes; evaluates their
effectiveness
Accept patient referrals from Clinicians and Nursing Staff
Assess, plan, implement and evaluate care, goal setting and
rehabilitation of patients with respiratory conditions using
their specialist clinical knowledge and clinical skills.
Anticipate the many varied care needs of patients with
respiratory disease and their families. Devise and implement
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strategies to address these needs and evaluate their
effectiveness.
Be responsible for the running of Nurse Led Respiratory
Clinics. In this clinic, the CNS has responsibilities in follow
up and secondary prevention.
Assess, plan, deliver and evaluate care given to patients.
This includes patient education on his/her condition,
medication, lifestyle and diet.
Make appropriate referrals to the multidisciplinary team.
Communicate with the patient’s G.P. and Community
Nurses in relation to the patient’s condition when required.
Attend combined Consultant / Nurse Led Clinics for patients
with respiratory conditions.
Be responsible for patient reviews, education and
counselling.
Makes autonomous decisions with / on behalf of the
patient, to augment and support their health potential and to
promote continuity of care.
Liaise with colleagues in PCCC in order to facilitate the
integration of care between primary and secondary care
initiating patient assessment whilst in secondary care,
where possible.
Organise a patient caseload, providing expert assessment,
planning and evaluation of care within this specialist area.
Initiate assistance from the Palliative Care team for end of
life issues where appropriate.
Assess effectiveness of patient's medication. In
consultation with the Consultant or GP he/she may titrate
medication, within protocols, having first been prescribed by
a Medical Doctor.
In collaboration with the multidisciplinary team refer patients
for pulmonary rehabilitation within the outreach programme
as indicated by the criteria.
Participate in the delivery of standard rehabilitation
programme for this patient cohort.
Advocate and practice an inter-disciplinary approach to
patient care pathways within this specialist area.
Patient Advocate
The CNS will:
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To act as patient/client advocate utilising
evidence based professional knowledge and skills.
Identify clinical issues and incidents within the service that
reduce the quality of care to patients within the respiratory
service. Take part in activities to address these issues to
ensure the delivery of safe and effective care.
This advocacy role should extend to empowering
patients/clients and carers to effectively manage the
conditions.
Education and Training
The CNS will:
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Develop and manage educational programmes for patients
and carers in relation to the specialist area of practice
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empowering them to manage their condition and seek
appropriate and timely help and advice.
Lead the development of literature to support patient
information and education.
Develop and maintain links with the Centre of Nurse
Education and tertiary institutions.
Develop and deliver multi-professional educational
programmes utilizing the philosophy of life long learning.
Audit and Research
The CNS will:
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Regularly audit clinical practice and initiate collaborative
change that will improve standards of care and health
outcomes to patients in this specialist area, using agreed
guidelines.
Evaluate research findings and lead evidence-based
practice in the specialist area.
Lead or delegate collaborative research projects within the
clinical setting that improves the quality of care and health
outcomes in the specialist area.
Actively participate and contribute to clinical governance
activities within both general and respiratory medicine.
Disseminate research findings and knowledge by pursuing
opportunities to present work at national conferences or via
publications.
Consultant
The CNS will:
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Attend and contribute to weekly patient case conferences.
Attend and contribute to respiratory team meetings.
Liaise with other nurse specialists, hospital physicians, GP's
and PCCC to enhance effective patient care and further
developments within the Respiratory Service.
Establish links with other organisations, both national and
international level where appropriate, providing support and
information regarding this specialist area, and utilise these
additional resources where necessary, to benefit patient
care.
Health & Safety
The CNS will:
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Contribute to the development of policies, procedures,
guidelines and safe professional practice
Adhere to, and ensure adherence to relevant legislation,
regulations and standards in the delivery of service
Ensure that effective safety procedures are developed and
managed to comply with statutory obligations, in conjunction
with relevant staff e.g. health and safety procedures,
emergency procedures
Observe, report and take appropriate action on any matter
which may be detrimental to staff and/or service user care
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or well being / may be inhibiting the efficient provision of
care
Assist in observing and ensuring implementation and
adherence to established policies and procedures e.g.
health and safety, infection control
Ensure completion of incident / near miss forms / clinical risk
reporting
Adhere to department policies in relation to the care and
safety of any equipment supplied for the fulfilment of duty
General
The CNS will:
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Lead in the development of a strategic plan for the
respiratory service, focusing on patient centered
evidence-based programmes of care.
Lead on continuous quality improvement programmes
and produces regular written reviews.
Be responsible for identifying clinical workload and
allocation of team to carry out patient/client care.
Develop and implements strategies for delivering
effective respiratory care within a changing environment
that will improve the quality of care and health outcomes
in the specialist area.
Develop and implements health promotion and
preventative strategies to achieve service targets.
Develop and implements the development of multiprofessional documentation systems, standards and
evidence based clinical protocols for the specialist area
in collaboration with other professional groups.
Initiate projects that raise the profile of the specialist
service and team members.
Management
The CNS will:
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Ensure staff are orientated and familiar with nursing
policies, protocols and guidelines.
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Provide clinical leadership on nursing issues and
address training needs, where indicated nursing staff in
the team to include student and registered nurses.
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Work in partnership with the team in identifying the
training needs of non-nursing staff if indicated.
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Facilitate team building, foster collaborative working
environment and good communication systems
between the relevant disciplines involved in service
delivery.
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Participate in management team meetings on a
rotational basis as nursing representative.
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Address grievances or complaints that may arise,
document accordingly and consult with other
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managerial supports i.e. consultant psychiatrists,
general manager etc.
The above Job Description is not intended to be a
comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the
post holder may be required to perform other duties as
appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him/her from
time to time and to contribute to the development of the post
while in office.
Eligibility Criteria
Qualifications and/
or experience
Skills, competencies
and/or knowledge
Each candidate must on the latest date of receipt of completed
application form to this office:
Be registered in the Relevant Division of the Register of Nurses
kept by An Bord Altranais or be entitled to be so registered
And
Have at least 5 years post registration experience of which 2
must be in the specialty or related area
And
Have the ability to practice safely and effectively fulfilling his/her
professional responsibility within his / her scope of practice
And
Must demonstrate evidence of continuing professional
development
And
Have undertaken a formal recognised post registration
education relevant to his/her area of specialist practice at higher
diploma level or equivalent (Level 8) on the NQAI framework
And
Have the clinical, managerial and administrative capacity to
properly discharge the functions of the role
Knowledge/Professional Knowledge:
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Knowledge of Chronic Respiratory Illness
Knowledge of the Health Service Reform Programme.
Knowledge of The National Transformation Programme
2007- 2010.
Awareness of specialist role/Clinical focus
Patient Advocacy
Education and Training /Audit and Research
Consultative role
Knowledge of current professional issues
Clinical Governance
Demonstrate the ability to develop and maintain
relationships with all members of the multidisciplinary team.
Demonstrate strong communication and influencing skills.
Demonstrate the ability to represent patients values and
decisions in collaboration with others.
Demonstrate the ability to plan and organise effectively.
Effective time management
Ability to set own goals and work on own initiative.
Ability to persuade and influence positively
Recognition of education needs of staff, patients and
families
Demonstrate the ability to lead on clinical practice and
service quality.
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Demonstrate promotion of evidence based decision making.
Demonstrate practitioner competence and professionalism.
Demonstrate the ability to relate nursing research to nursing
practice.
Demonstrate an awareness of current and emerging
strategic policies in relation to respiratory care
management.
Demonstrate the ability to facilitate both structured and
impromptu educational opportunities for staff and patients.
Demonstrate a commitment to continuing professional
development.
Demonstrate the ability to initiate and participate in clinical
audit and evaluation of patient care.
Skills:
Communication and influencing skills including Negotiation Skills.
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Demonstrate effective communication skills including ability
to present information in a clear and concise manner, build
relationships, empathise and focus on service user, facilitate
and manage groups.
Leadership & Team Management Skills
 Empowering and enabling leadership style
 Demonstrate leadership and team management skills,
including ability to work with/in multidisciplinary team.
 Ability to Build and maintain relationships
Planning & Organisation Skills
 Demonstrate evidence of effective planning and
organisational skills.
 Demonstrate evidence of effective decision making and
Promotion of evidence – based decision making.
 Demonstrate evidence of ability to manage change and to
provide/develop proactive strategic vision.
 Service initiation and innovation
Other requirements
specific to the post
Competition Specific
Selection Process
n/a
Applicants may be shortlisted for interview based on information
supplied in the application form at the closing date or in other
specified assessment documentation
Shortlisting
Criteria for short listing are based on the requirements of the post as
outlined in the post specific requirements, duties, skills,
competencies and/ or knowledge section of this job specification
and the information supplied in the competency based application
form if used.
Code of Practice
The Health Service Executive will run this campaign in compliance
with the Code of Practice prepared by the Commission for Public
Service Appointments (CPSA). The Code of Practice sets out how
the core principles of probity, merit, equity and fairness might be
applied on a principle basis. The Codes also specifies the
responsibilities placed on candidates, feedback facilities for
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candidates on matters relating to their application, when requested,
and outlines procedures in relation to requests for a review of the
recruitment and selection process, and review in relation to
allegations of a breach of the Code of Practice.
Additional
information on the HSE’s review process is available in the
document posted with each vacancy entitled “Code Of Practice,
Information For Candidates”.
Codes of Practice are published by the CPSA and are available on
www.hse.ie/eng/staff/jobs in the document posted with each
vacancy entitled “Code of Practice, Information For Candidates” or
on www.cpsa-online.ie.
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HEALTH SERVICES EXECUTIVE
Terms and Conditions of Employment
Clinical Nurse Specialist, Respiratory Medicine
Tenure
The appointment is whole-time, permanent and pensionable.
Appointment as an employee of the Health Service Executive is
governed by the Health Act 2004 and the Public Service Management
(Recruitment and Appointment) Act 2004.
Remuneration
The Salary scale (as per 01/01/2010) for the post is:
€47,089, €47,886, €48,559, €49,659, €50,874, €52,067, €53,260,
€54,604, €55,852
Working Week
The standard working week applying to the post is: 37.5 hours
Annual Leave
The annual leave associated with the post is: 25-28 days
Superannuation
All pensionable staff become members of the pension scheme.
Probation
Every permanent appointment of a person who is not already a
permanent officer of the Health Service Executive or of a Local
Authority shall be subject to a probationary period of 12 months as
stipulated in the Department of Health Circular No.10/71.
Age
Age restrictions shall only apply to a candidate where he/she is not
classified as a new entrant (within the meaning of the Public Service
Superannuation Act, 2004). A candidate who is not classified as a
new entrant must be under 65 years of age.
Health
A candidate for and any person holding the office must be fully
competent and capable of undertaking the duties attached to the
office and be in a state of health such as would indicate a
reasonable prospect of ability to render regular and efficient service.
Character
Each candidate for and any person holding the office must be of
good character.
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