Macmillan Clinical Psychologist

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Although the Northamptonshire Psycho-oncology Service itself is a relatively small team, you would also be joining a well-established regional network of psychologists working within the East Midlands Cancer Alliance, which offers opportunities for peer supervision as well as collaboration with regard to strategic regional service development.  As a Macmillan professional, you will have access to the added support and resources offered by Macmillan Cancer Support, including specialist opportunities for training, development and networking with other Macmillan professionals across the UK.

The post holder will work as part of the cancer multidisciplinary team, providing Level 3/4 psychological assessments and therapeutic interventions, in line with the service model recommended by NICE (2004) and the EMCA Psychosocial Care Model (2020) for the provision of psychological care to people living with cancer.    

The post holder will also support the delivery of supervision, consultation and teaching to the hospital-based Level 2 Practitioners such as Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialists, as well as providing support to other staff within oncology services and the wider hospital cancer team as appropriate. 

The post holder will work closely with the service lead to develop and implement the service across the County and will have opportunities to contribute to the future development of the service.

To work as part of the Macmillan Psychology Service to provide a specialist (Level IV) clinical psychology service across the county, in line with national directives, to adult (18 +) patients living with cancer who are under the care of Northampton or Kettering General Hospitals and who are experiencing complex psychological difficulties relating to any aspect of their diagnosis or treatment.

To provide specialist psychological assessments for patients accessing oncology services, based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of highly complex psychological data from a variety of sources including psychological measures, direct observations and clinical interviews with patients, family members and others involved in the patient’s care.

To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a patient’s psychological difficulties taking into account developmental background, personality adaptations, interpersonal patterns of relating and diagnostic issues.  These plans will be based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the patient’s difficulties and employing methods of proven efficacy, across the full range of care settings.

To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions, adjusting and refining psychological formulations which draw upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.

To evaluate and make decisions about treatments options and exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of patients.

To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members.

To undertake risk assessment and risk management for patients and to provide general advice to other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management.

To offer a flexible and responsive service to cancer patients at all stages of the cancer pathway, including a mix of face to face and virtual outpatient sessions, as well as some inpatient work.

To identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behavior.

To communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to patients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.

To develop effective working relationships with the cancer multidisciplinary team and the wider health care community 

To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific patient group and mental health.

To work positively with issues of difference and diversity.

To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of practice of the British Psychological Society, the Health Care and Professionals Council and Trust policies and procedures.

To provide consultation to other professional and non-professional groups where appropriate.

To work closely with psychology colleagues working within cancer and palliative care across Northamptonshire, as well as other Psychologists within the region.

To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the team’s operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.

To advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.

To contribute to the pre- and post-qualification teaching of clinical psychologists, as appropriate.

Depending on service resource, and as appropriate, to develop opportunities to provide specialist clinical placements for trainee clinical/health psychologists within the Macmillan Clinical Psychology Service.

The post holder may be required:

To provide core clinical placements for trainee clinical psychologists, ensuring that trainees acquire the necessary skills, competencies and experience to contribute effectively to good psychological care and to be responsible for the assessment and evaluation of such competencies.

To provide professional management and clinical supervision of trainee clinical psychologists and/or assistant psychologists working in the service to which the postholder is attached.

To manage the workloads of assistant and trainee clinical psychologists, within the framework of the team/service’s policies and procedures.

To further develop skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision and to provide supervision to other MDT staff’s psychological work as appropriate.

To provide advice, consultation and training to staff working with the patient group across a range of agencies and settings. This may also include providing support to staff with their own emotional and psychological needs in response to their work caring for cancer patients.

To teach and train others in order to enhance understanding and practice of psychological models and ways of working.

To receive regular clinical professional supervision from Principal or Consultant clinical psychologist.

To gain specialist experience and skills relevant to the clinical psychology specialty through a comprehensive, planned programme of CPD in accordance with British Psychological Society and The Health and Care Professions Council Guidance.

To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the postholder’s professional and service manager(s).

To contribute to the development and dissemination of best practice in psychology across the service, by continuing to develop the skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the field of clinical psychology and related disciplines.

To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research, including doctoral trainee clinical psychologists and assistant and senior assistant clinical psychologists as appropriate.

To assist with project management, including complex audit and service evaluation to help develop service provision.