Clinical Trials/Senior Cross-sectional Radiographer

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Communication requirements

• To assist in ensuring there is effective communication between the various teams who have input into the radiology services such as diagnostic radiology staff, students, medical physics staff, clinicians, nursing staff, engineers and others.
• To ensure that patients understand complex information related to their examination and to encourage patients to cooperate fully in the examination process. This may involve patients with additional needs
• To log incidents via the Trust incident system (DATIX).
• Accurate input of patient data into any Trust computer system
• To take part in departmental research and audit and report as necessary

Planning and organisational duties

• Review research protocols, imaging protocols, patient information sheets, amendments and other related trial documents making judgements regarding imaging investigation requirements and regulatory compliance e.g. Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations (IR(ME)R), Health Research Authority (HRA) and Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and other appropriate regulatory bodies to ensure compliance with national standards.
• Ensure compliance within the radiology service of the agreed clinical trials protocols, confirming staff knowledge/skills, specialised equipment compatibility, availability and frequency of imaging.
• Translate complex clinical trial imaging and scheduling requirements into work practices. This may require discussion with Consultant Radiologists and Superintendent Radiographers for the specific trials, to enable assessment of skills and resources required.
• Act as the main liaison between radiology and R&I for a multitude of projects including organising meetings regarding trial specific requirements, attending site initiation visits, site specific questionnaires, and trial specific training with relevant stakeholders.
• Vet each imaging and biopsy request which is part of a research trial to assess compliance with the protocol, IRMER regulations, to enable justification of the radiation exposure by radiographic staff prior to patients undergoing any clinical trial related imaging investigation.
• Liaise with Trust medical physics experts regarding estimated radiation dose for clinical trials and investigate and record breaches of ethical radiation dose constraints.
• Liaise with speciality leads to ensure maintenance records and calibration of equipment utilised for the purposes of research are maintained in accordance with clinical trial requirements.
• Undertake and update technical evaluations and risk assessments on equipment utilised for trial scanning and inform R&I of any changes.
• Work in a specialist role with accountability for own actions to work independently using own initiative to plan and prioritise own workload
• Ordering of equipment and consumable items.
• Provision of specialist care of patients to ensure their comfort and safety in the department.
• Checking patient details prior to examination and ensuring all relevant details are on the request card as per the IR(ME)R regulations. Ensuring pregnancy is excluded in female patients of childbearing years.
• Maintenance of the standards of imaging set by the department.
• Ensuring that any faults in equipment, fixtures, fittings or fabric of any of the departments are recorded and notified to the appropriate persons, complying with and enforcing current Health and Safety and Moving and Handling regulations.
• Ensure that all relevant radiation protection and safety measures for each department are adhered to, e.g. MR local rules, ionising radiation regulations, IR(ME)R, departmental dose reduction strategies etc.
• Maintaining practices in keeping with departmental and Trust Board policies, e.g. fire regulations, patient confidentiality etc.

Analytical skills

• Adapt radiological techniques and protocols in accordance with the condition of the patient and their mobility.
• Assess patient’s clinical condition regarding the level of risk of giving intravenous and oral contrast medium when relevant

Responsibilities for information resources

• Possesses advanced IT skills e.g. manipulating databases, working with the full MS suite of software including MS Excel and be competent at report writing.
• Maintain the radiology clinical trials database, including accurate patient data entry, dose limitations, imaging costs for individual patient examinations, and resolution of discrepancies between Trust information systems (CRIS, Medway).
• Support and oversee the Clinical Trial Assistants in radiology to produce anonymised copy images for trial sponsors.
• Support the Clinical Trial Assistants to record evidence and maintaining an audit trial for all team activities including copy scans, vetting, study reviews, appointments, biopsies etc.
• Archive all trial related documentation and information (paper and electronic) as per legal and national guidelines.
• Ensures patient confidentiality, privacy, data protection, safety and security

Responsibility for financial resources

• Review Research protocols to provide financial costings advice to R&I.
• Produce radiology trials activity reports, including financial, as required by R&I to support remuneration for the servic

Research and Training

• Take an active role in the training of qualified radiographers, radiography students and students/staff from other disciplines including visiting engineers and clinical trainee staff
• Maintain expertise in intravenous cannulation techniques.
• To participate in the departmental continuing professional development programme, including participating in appraisal and personal development planning.
• To participate in the Trust’s essential training.
• Supervision of junior radiographic staff and radiographic aides as required. Including clinical supervision of radiography students.
• Supervise the Clinical Trial Assistants in Radiology including the training of new staff members and assisting with complex queries.
• To work with the radiologists, clinical specialist radiographers and other senior staff in the department to review working practices, identify new ways of working and find solutions to problems.
• Develop and run specific Radiology research training sessions for Christie Radiology Staff and R&I based staff including RECIST reporting, image transfer, induction training to understand the imaging modalities, protocols and procedures within radiology for clinical trials and any other training as needs arise.
• Support departmental audits involving Radiology research, with the ability to lead independent audits and present results to the department.
• Facilitate external audit and inspection visits conducted in relation to research on behalf of the radiology department. Escalating any issues or concerns to the radiology services manager and clinical director, Head of Quality for research.
• Produce, review and adhere to required standard operating procedures (SOP’s) and relevant policies to support the work practice of the post holder to ensure a robust quality assurance (QA) process is in place.
• Maintain and update own practice/expertise and CPD portfolio as per Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registration requirements and adhere to the Society and College of Radiographer’s Professional Code of Conduct.
• Continued learning across the mix of modality scanning methods in an oncology setting.
• Contribute to future development and improvement of the radiology clinical trials service.
• If an unplanned incident or event occurs that causes a disruption to normal service, you may be required to support radiology scanning clinically.
• Any other duties that might be reasonably requested to maintain the smooth running of the service