GOLDEN JUBILEE NATIONAL HOSPITAL
JOB DESCRIPTION –
1. JOB IDENTIFICATION
Job Title: Trainee Scientist Cardiac Physiology
Department(s): Cardiac Physiology
Job Holder Reference:
No of Job Holders: 1
2. JOB PURPOSE
To undertake training as a Cardiac Physiologist, hospital based clinical training is supplemented with a
3 year, block release gaining an MSc in Cardiac Science and registration with HCPC.
This is a fixed term 3 year training post supported through NHS Education for Scotland (NES).
This is a trainee post and will be expected to train and gain knowledge, experience and skills in
cardiac physiology. The trainee will ultimately assist in the provision of a professional, highly skilled,
efficient, high quality diagnostic and interventional cardiac service to patients attending the Golden
Jubilee National Hospital. The post-holder, once competent will be responsible for providing clinical
input and reports on all cardiac investigations in a timely manner in order to support best possible
clinical practice and patient care.
This post supports the Cardiac Services Manager/Senior Chief’s aims to ensure that there are clear
and effective structures and processes designed for co-ordinated decisions that achieve the Board’s
Health Plan strategy for safe and effective clinical care.
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3. Cardiac Physiology Organisational Chart :-
Cardiac Physiology Service Manager
Deputy Cardiac Physiology Service
Manager
Highly Specialist Cardiac Physiologists
Advanced Practitioners
Echocardiography, EP/Cardiac Devices
Cardiac Physiologists
Trainee Scientist Cardiac Physiology
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4. SCOPE AND RANGE
Under the guidance of senior staff and mentors, will train in the following aspects of Cardiac
Physiology, in accordance with professional and hospital departmental policies & protocols.
Service Level:
This is a trainee post and will be supervised by senior staff in the provision of a highly skilled,
professional and efficient cardiac service to all departments within the GJNH and to externally
sourced patients as required.
Budget:
The post holder will be well aware of budgetary constraints and he/she will be conscientious in providing
a high quality service within those constraints.
Be responsible for the completion of his/her own timesheet and management of his/her toil time and
expenses.
Staff:
Trainee post
Research and Development:
Demonstrates academic capability to undertake Masters level course work, including producing a
masters thesis/project.
Participate and provide information/results in clinical trials either in a primary role or assist with clinical
trials performed by other clinical departments or other cardiac research centers.
5. MAIN DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES
Under direct supervision of qualified practitioners and until signed of as competent will learn how to
perform, routine, complex and specialist cardiac investigations on both cardiac and other patients
sourced by the GJNH. Act and think clearly and calmly under acute time pressures and in
emergency situations.
Seek advice from senior colleagues in order to gain experience and knowledge.
Keep up with current techniques and research developments to maintain good clinical practice.
Adhere to professional code of conduct and professional guidelines.
Ensure that clinical practice is patient centered and that it is monitored and audited, these results
being benchmarked against other comparable services.
Develop knowledge and expertise in current developments and future trends in cardiac physiology.
Organise academic workload to achieve the MSc in Cardiac Science (cardiac physiology)
Undergo annual appraisals (e-KSF) and utilise to identify areas of personal and professional
development. Participate in scientific presentations.
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Duties and responsibilities of qualified practitioners.
This post will be expected to train and develop the appropriate knowledge, skills and competences to
perform the following range of cardiac investigations:
Record and analyse/interpret resting electrocardiograms; routine and complex 24hour ambulatory
electrocardiograms; 24hour ambulatory Blood Pressure; Pulmonary Function Tests. Monitor and
analyse the electrocardiogram and haemodynamic data during Tilt Table procedures.
Complex
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Perform ‘Cardiac Physiologist (CP) led’ treadmill exercise tolerance testing with analysis of the
electrocardiogram and haemodynamic data. The cardiac physiologist is required to review the
referral and the patient’s cardiac status and then decide if the request is appropriate and
whether it is safe and within professional guide lines to proceed.
Diagnostic analysis for suitable lead placement and generator programming during single and
complex dual chamber pacemaker implantation.
‘CP led’ pacemaker follow up, assessment and reprogramming of the above pacemakers in
order to optimise pacemaker function for patient’s cardiac, general status and safe care.
Cardiac Catheterisation Diagnostic - monitoring and accurate recording of patient
demographics including electrocardiogram and haemodynamic status, medication, contrast,
etc, log time of angio injections alerting the cardiologist to any change in the patient’s ECG and
haemodynamic status.
Cardiac Catheterisation Intervention ‘PCI’ – as above, but also scanning/logging
interventional equipment used, with timing and pressure during balloon inflations whilst
recording and alerting the consultant to any acute changes in the patient’s ECG and
haemodynamic status during interventional procedures.
Pressure Wire System- will be competent at setting up, the Radi analyser, calculation of
fractional flow reserve.
IABP (Intra Aortic Balloon Pump) – will be able to set up the pump, augmenting pressures and
heart cycle timing during elective and emergency situations.
IVUS – Intravascular Ultrasound – competent in setting up, recording, measuring and viewing
intravascular coronary ultrasound.
Specialist Clinical duties
As outlined in the MSc programme will have basic competency with knowledge and skills in both and
will specialise in one of the following:
Echocardiography:
Basic knowledge and understanding of cardiac ultrasound including M-Mode, CFM and Doppler
with some experience in scanning which may have been supervised. Will be expected to perform
and report LV function studies which dependant on experience, will be supervised and reviewed by
more senior staff.
Pacing/Electrophysiology:
‘CP led’ pacemaker assessment and reprogramming as necessary on patients with implanted
devices, attending GJNH for Cardiac/other surgery. To ensure the device is protected during
surgery and the pre/post operative status is recorded in the patient’s GJNH case notes. The
Cardiac Physiologist will ensure that the Cardiac Services department receives from referring
Trusts information on the patient’s pacemaker status during their stay at the GJNH.
To re-program pacemakers both on a temporary and a permanent basis in order to optimise the
patient’s care and recovery.
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Teaching and Training
The post-holder with produce a personal work plan and identify training needs as required to the
Cardiac Services Manager/Senior Chief.
The trainee will ensure they are up to date with mandatory training and identify any training need to
their line manager/senior clinical staff.
6. SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT
The post-holder will be required to have a detailed in-depth knowledge of the following equipment
functions. How to operate, calibrate, clean, maintain and trouble-shoot technical problems to ensure
that safe, accurate, high quality data/reports are produced since they can affect decisions regarding
patient’s treatment and care.
Medical:
 Cath Lab Haemodynamics System– The trainee will be expected to achieve advanced skills
and knowledge of this, or similar equipment.
 Pressure Wire System- Provides data for functional assessment of a coronary lesion.
 IABP (Intra Aortic Balloon Pump) will be expected to achieve advanced skills and knowledge
in the use of this equipment. IABP (Intra Aortic Balloon Pump)
 ECG Event Recorder - will know how to distinguish between genuine ECG arrhythmia
and patient/technical interference.
 Lung Function Lab System - know how to use and de-contaminate re-usable mouthpieces.
 ECG machines - will also provide knowledge and support to non-cardiac staff
in the use of and ECG interpretation.
 Exercise Case system- provides data for interpretation to diagnose/quantify cardiac disease.
 24 hour BP and ECG Recorders.
Computer software: Medical
 R-Test; Diasysoft; Cardiosoft; Mars software (for the above equipment) – be thoroughly familiar
with and understand the procedures for the downloading, analysis and reporting of findings from
data obtained.
 Muse system- Operation of patient procedure management system
 The trainee, during Cardiac Cath/Angio procedures, is responsible for recording and assisting
consultants in the collection of patient data onto CATHI
 Advanced skills in the use of Microsoft Office XP
7. DECISIONS AND JUDGEMENTS
Professional
Will work under direct supervision from accredited staff and advanced practitioners working within
Professional Codes of Practice/Guidelines and policies and procedures.
Clinical
Under direct supervision will be expected to advise cardiac and clinical staff on the quality of ECG
recording/monitoring, use of equipment and interpretation of results.
Prior to stress testing the post-holder must evaluate the patient’s general/cardiac status/fitness and
decide whether it is appropriate to proceed with the type of stress test requested. If inappropriate it
will be necessary for the post-holder to convey this to senior staff and to the patient and to explain
the reasons why their test has been changed/cancelled.
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Under direct supervision during the evaluation of pacemaker patients will assess the patient’s,
clinical status and the pacemaker settings in order to decide whether re-programming the
pacemaker would be safe and clinically beneficial or compromise the patient’s care.
Is required to act on any acute findings from the above procedure and impart this information and
or opinion to the supervising cardiac physiologist, patient and the referring consultant/surgeon.
The trainee may, occasionally, have to interrupt routine work in order to perform urgent,
emergency cardiac investigations during normal working hours.
Policies and procedures
The trainee is required to review all cardiac physiology policies and procedures on the hospital
policy management system and ensure they are up to date with hospital wide policy and procedure
e.g. infection control policies and procedures
8. COMMUNICATIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS
The trainee must have highly developed communications skills. These must be allied to an accurate
knowledge and understanding of the well established forms of communication in order to provide
complex information to highly specialist clinical staff in a knowledgeable and professional manner and
convey the same information/results to patients and relatives at a level that can be clearly understood.
They will demonstrate a balanced and equitable approach to managing difficult situations for patients,
staff and visitors.
Inter-departmental/staff communication
Daily communication, with all levels of staff throughout the organisation in a concise, professional and
reasoned manner.
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Communicate findings from cardiac investigations on cardiac/non cardiac patients to cardiac
surgeons, cardiologists, other clinical consultants and ITU colleagues.
Regular communication with nursing staff and unit co-ordinating staff regarding appointments,
and results.
Patients, Carers and relatives
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Communicate to patients the arrangement of appointments and any information relevant to their
procedure.
Instruct patients, at an appropriately pitched level, what to expect during their investigations and
why. In this manner also to actively encourage their co-operation in order to achieve the best
possible outcome/results from their test/procedure.
Persuade patients, often post MI or with IHD, to perform exercise on a treadmill in an attempt to
induce symptoms and ECG changes.
Communicate to non-English speaking patients through an appropriate interpreter and respect
any cultural or religious requirements.
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9. PHYSICAL DEMANDS OF THE JOB
Clinical – Moving and handling
On a daily basis be required to position and maneuver patients in order to optimise test information. The
post-holder may have to perform cardiac investigations on obese, difficult to manage and/or unhygienic
patients. Because of the very nature of some of the higher risk clinical procedures the post-holder can
be exposed to highly distressing and exceedingly emotional circumstances.
There is physical requirement of the highest capability in hand and eye co-ordination allied to prolonged
periods of concentration, keyboard skills and accuracy during the performance of all cardiac ultrasound
scans.
Required to wear protective lead coat during coronary angiograms and interventional sessions on an
average of 3 hours per session with several sessions per week being performed.
Risk
All clinical and administrative tasks require the post-holder to be in front of VDU’s of differing size and
quality.
The post-holder is frequently exposed to blood and body fluids during cardiac catheterisation,
pacemaker implant and performing tests on post-operative patients in ITU.
During all cardiac investigations the post-holder will be expected to take precautions and adhere to
Risk and Infection Control policies/guidelines in order to minimise the risks of injury and/or crosscontamination/infection both to themselves and other patients
Administrative
The post-holder requires good keyboard skills for using Office XP and medical software packages to
input data, update clinical notes and type up results of procedures.
10. MOST CHALLENGING/DIFFICULT PARTS OF THE JOB
Balancing academic and clinical workloads effectively to promote good learning while achieving
successful completion of the training course work and professional portfolio.
The most challenging aspect of the post is to provide highly accurate diagnostic analysis and be
responsible for the reporting of same particularly as in the course of his/her procedures the post-holder
will often obtain findings that are new, acute or indeed in conflict with those that are contained in the
patient’s referral notes.
Other clinical staff for advice and opinion often calls upon the Cardiac Physiologist’s specialist
diagnostic skills and knowledge in cardiology.
The most difficult part of the job is time management as circumstances change during the working day
according to the needs and priorities of the patients and other clinical staff or departments.
The post-holder will be expected to use empathy and persuasion to achieve a positive result for the
patient to optimise test results.
Dealing with stressful situations during emergency procedures or cardiac arrest where the outcome may
be dealing with a deceased patient.
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11. KNOWLEDGE, TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED TO DO THE JOB
Essential:
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First or Second Class Honors Degree in physiology or an allied scientific area as minimum
for entry into trainee programme.
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Undertakes a 3 year block release MSc qualification in Cardiac Science.
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Required to undertake in-house training programme and maintain a professional
training log/competency of all cardiac investigations.
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My be required to undertake on call duties while supervised by an accredited cardiac
Physiologist towards the end of the training programme, to give experience of out of hours
WOS STEMI reperfusion service – primary percutaneous coronary intervention pPCI.
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Demonstrate good organisation and planning skills and self discipline
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Demonstrate good research and presentation skills and experience.
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Completes a relevant specialist cardiac science Master’s project in year 3 of the training
programme.
12. JOB DESCRIPTION AGREEMENT
A separate job description will need to be signed off by each jobholder to
whom the job description applies.
Date:
Job Holder’s Signature:
Date:
Head of Department Signature:
7/8/03/approved job description template
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Recruitment Person Specification
The aim of this form is to record the criteria applicants need to meet to qualify for appointment
to the vacant post. It must be completed before the recruitment process begins and must reflect
the job description for the post.
Scientific Trainee Cardiac Physiology Jan 2014
Qualifications/Training
Experience
Skills/Knowledge
Essential
Desirable
First or Second Class Honours
Degree in physiology or an allied
scientific area
Good planning and organisational
skills.
Demonstrates academic
capability to undertake Masters
level course work, including
producing a masters
thesis/project.
Masters, PHD in specialist area.
Evidence of research
Previous work within a healthcare
environment.
Skills and knowledge from
working in a health care
environment
An understanding of the role of a
CARDIAC PHYSIOLOGIST
Good interpersonal &
communication skills
Able to demonstrate good team
working
Self motivated.
Additional job
requirements
Eg. unsocial hours
Manage time effectively between
academic studies and clinical
training.
Will be willing to travel and live
away from home during training
period. This is approx 18 block
weeks over year one and two of
the Masters course.
Capable of working irregular work
patterns - flexible/unsocial hours
Any other additional information
Must be self disciplined to work
through studies
Fully aware this is a fixed term 3
year training programme post.
Irene Crawford 07/02/2014
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Previous experience in working
away from home/flexible work
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