Clinical Nurse Lead - VTE / Anticoagulation

Key Result Areas:

Expertise & Excellence in Clinical Practice

Leads on the delivery of evidence-based personalised and compassionate care which places quality at the heart of specialist practice.  Care will responsive to individual needs and reflect current local and national guidelines.

Works as an autonomous practitioner utilising high levels of autonomy and advocacy, using analytical and judgemental skills in undertaking differential diagnosis to ensure the delivery of expert level of care, developing own and others knowledge within the speciality.

As a non medical prescriber, prescribes relevant anticoagulant therapy to patients.

Leads in the ongoing development and delivery of nurse led clinics in line with local service need covering newly diagnosed VTE’s, vitamin K antagonists and Direct Oral Anti-Coagulation therapies. Clinics may be face to face or telephone and will incorporate the use of agreed protocols and clinical and professional guidelines.

Uses and applies technical knowledge of the speciality and treatment and advanced health assessment skills to determine patient suitability for anticoagulant therapy and in dependently prescribes appropriately. 

Effectively manages pathways of care, adapting to patient's emerging needs by ensured a planned and coordinated approach to care.

Receives and acts upon referrals directly from healthcare professionals and make referrals to other team members and specialist departments as necessary to ensure optimal quality of care.

Acts as a patient advocate to facilitate the process of shared decision-making in respect to health, choice of treatment and care.  Uses interpersonal and communication skills where there may be significant barriers to understanding in order to build confidence.  Ensures that patient's individual needs are expressed.

Empowered patients to self-manage their condition, undertaking risk stratification to determine those who can self-manage following education, those will need guided support to self-manage and those who will need ongoing direct support.

Works autonomously in the development and delivery of nurse-led clinics in line with national guidance and local service need.

Acts as a resource providing clinical expertise, highly specialist advice and support across service boundaries to ensure optimum liaison and coordination of care.

Undertakes and achieves clinical competencies and assesses band 6 and band 5 competencies, relevant to this specialist service to demonstrate expertise in extended nursing roles with annual evaluation. 

Management & Leadership

Acts as a role model demonstrating high standards of care and providing expert clinical leadership to others across the organisation

Supervises junior members of the nursing team.

Manages members of the anticoagulation specialist nursing team including responsibility for annual appraisal, development, off duty, annual leave, amd absence.

Manages delegated budgets.

Determines measurable outcomes for the service and demonstrates continuous evaluation at practice making changes where necessary.

Contributes and leads on elements of the clinical governance agenda.

Participates in operational and strategic planning for the development and delivery of the specialist service.  Implements service and policy improvements and efficiencies.

Attends Trust senior nurse meetings and contributes to the agenda and the strategic nursing vision.

Represents the Trust by contributing to and participating in meetings locally, regional and nationally relating to the speciality.

Contributes to an annual service review, gathering information to support the annual report.

Communication

Takes personal responsibility for ensuring effective communication between all service providers.

Acts as a role model for excellent advance communication skills expertise.  Demonstrates advanced empathetic interpersonal and communication skills in supporting, informing, educating and advising patients and carers through their journey where the information may be complex and there are barriers to understanding.

As a core member of the MDT provides professional advice to the VTE and anticoagulation Team. 

Refers to, and liaises with as necessary, other health professionals and outside agencies to ensure optimum care and ongoing support for individual patients/carers, and to ensure the seamless transition from primary to secondary care appropriate to patients’ individual needs and circumstances.

Maintain links with local and national organisations, which support the care of patients within this speciality.

Education

Identifies and uses educational strategies to deliver information to clinical staff, patients and carers and external agencies by providing formal and informal education.

Leads the development of patient focus education including training to support self-management and health promotion activities. 

Leads, supports and participates in the development of VTE and anticoagulation training programmes and seminars.

Leads in the development of other professionals by contributing to Trust wide specialist education and training.

Supports the delivery of formal and informal teaching initiatives as part of the Trust’s education strategy as agreed with the appropriate senior nurse to ensure practice development, staff empowerment and improved care for patients.

Ensures staff and where appropriate patients and carers are fully trained on anticoagulation equipment and consumable products. 

Acts as a mentor/clinical supervisor as appropriate.

Takes personal responsibility for life-long learning and personal development through clinical supervision and appraisal.  Actively engages with learning and development opportunities needed to work as an advancing practitioner and take appropriate action to ensure these needs are met.

Contributes to promoting educational links with local providers of higher education and deliver lectures on a range of courses.

Quality, Audit, Innovation and Research

Leads in the development and evaluation of written patient information and use existing appropriate resources to inform users, according to individually assessed need.

Works within the NMC The Code. 

Leads and influences the development, implementation and evaluation of policies and clinical guidelines to support the specialist service.

Collaborates with other MDT members to develop and update multi-professional Trust operational policies and guidelines.

Maintains patient records and ensure an effective documentation system to reflect the activity and delivery of specialist nursing care.

Promotes the service and clinical excellence across all adult wards and departments. 

Uses creative reasoning, analysis of a variety of treatment options, experience and vision to support advancement of care.

Develops new skills in response to emerging knowledge and techniques.

Leads on management of change and its evaluation.

Maintains membership and attendance at national and local forums to network and debate issues to inform the specialist nursing role and service delivery where applicable.

Undertakes agreed departmental audits and publishes the findings.

Leads on the development of links and system to seek the views of patient and carers to ensure service development is in line with user needs.

Additional Responsibilities

To undertake phlebotomy.