Senior Staff Nurse Critical Care

Job overview

The intensive care unit in Brighton is a tertiary centre caring for the most critically unwell patients in the south east. We are a 31 bedded unit with neurosurgery, trauma and general patients. We have recently relocated into a fantastic new unit and are surrounded by sea views.

The unit has 55 beds and will be expanding in the future. We are highly skilled and diverse team looking for experienced ICU nurses with a critical care course.

We offer in house neuro and trauma training to all of our team alongside coaching and leadership support if you are new to the band 6 role.

The roster is flexible. But do require a rotation of days and nights.

Main duties of the job

Participate in ensuring effective multidisciplinary communication links both upwards and downwards within Critical Care (ICU/HDU) and the rest of the Trust. This involves all staff members, relatives and patients.

Attend Team Away-days/Unit meetings in order to communicate and discuss issues with senior members of staff.

Adhere to NMC guidelines on documentation; accountability and responsibility for accurate, professional record keeping either on paper and/ or the electronic system.

Display competent use of; Trust e-mail, CIS message centre (where applicable), visitors intercom system and telephone.

Responsible for effective shift handovers ensuring relevant detail is communicated and identifies and challenges any unprofessional or subjective comments made about patients.

Involvement in complex patient ‘case conferences’ when discussing future treatments for patients which could involve ’withdrawal of treatment’ in situations of poor prognosis.

Support families on a 1:1 basis using knowledge, experience and skill to explain complicated medical conditions. Provide adequate and appropriate information and education, whilst ensuring this information is understood.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

People Management and Development

• To provide day-to-day supervision for a team of nursing/ health professionals and support staff, including work planning and evaluation, training, development and guidance
• Contribute to service development and delivery and business planning with the ward or department manager and senior managers.
• Lead or attend case conferences, ward rounds and/ or multi-disciplinary meetings as indicated.
• Plan, manage and prioritise a complex workload, delegating to the team and reorganising work as necessary.
• Maintain appropriate patient/service records and monitor the standards of those of the team.
• To be responsible for the maintenance of accurate and evaluative professional documentation, including initial assessment, treatment planning and intervention that demonstrate evaluation, analysis and clinical reasoning in the provision of patient care.
• Adhere to all local standard operating procedures and policies.
• Contributes to the induction, management and development of team members.
• Participate in personnel functions such as recruitment, discipline, and the appraisal process in line with the Knowledge and Skills Framework.
• Submit and interpret accurate and timely statistical data and information as required.
• Responsible for ordering specialist equipment.
• Understand the wider departmental and organisational aims and priorities by engaging positively with the service and its users.
• To develop evidence-based practice based on national policy and to ensure that these standards are monitored and adhered to by all members of the team.
• Establish links between primary and secondary care considering the needs of the patient and delivery of the service.
• Demonstrate a sound understanding of clinical governance and risk management and ensure its effective application to the workplace with guidance from departmental management when needed.

Leadership

• Acts as a role model to other members of the team, in regard to demonstrating professional behaviours and exemplary conduct.
• To demonstrate excellent prioritising and time management skills to meet the unpredictable and conflicting needs of the service and assist junior staff with their time management.
• Acts as shift coordinator, delegates work and reviews people’s performance in the absence of / in conjunction with Band 7 Critical Care Nurse.

Please see attached Job Description for full details.