Assistant Psychologist
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Job overview
This is an exciting opportunity for a psychology graduate to join the Department of Psychological Services at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. In our latest survey 95% of DPS staff report feeling valued and cared for and that their role makes a difference.
The role involves supporting qualified psychological practitioners in providing clinical services for patients in the Inpatient and Acute Care Pathways Service. This post will provide you with an opportunity for a range of experiences working with patients and multi-disciplinary teams under the supervision of a qualified clinician.Other available experiences may include research and/or service development, data management and joint working.
As a department, we recognise that diversity of workforce extends our skills, experiences, and ideas, thereby adding value and creativity to our services. The department has an active Equality, Diversity and Inclusion group and welcome applications from candidates from all backgrounds.We particularly encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and the LGBTQ+ community.
Please see the attachment “Department overview” for more details about working with us.
Main duties of the job
The Assistant Psychologist (AP) plays a key role in the screening of hospital inpatients to understand their psychological care needs in relation to their health and treatment. This involves meeting patients at the bedside to conduct brief assessments using clinical interview and standardised measures.The AP will also support the patient’s care team to better understand and meet their psychological needs, achieved through close working relationships with qualified psychologists and multi-disciplinary teams.
The successful candidate will be highly motivated, have excellent interpersonal and written communication skills, the ability to organise themselves working both under their own initiative and the supervision of a qualified psychologist and ideally, an interest in working in an inpatient health setting.Graduates with experience within a clinical psychology or physical health setting are particularly encouraged to apply. In your application, please demonstrate how you meet the person specification. It is essential that candidates have a minimum of an Honours degree in Psychology and can demonstrate their eligibility for Graduate Basis for Registration with the British Psychological Society.
Working for our organisation
You will be working for an organisation which values and respects all of its staff and the community it serves. The Trust is a leader in the NHS and research sectors and provides excellent benefits for its staff. This includes commitments to professional development but also many policies to support employees in balancing their personal and professional lives.
As a member of the department, you would be part of a substantial, experienced, and enthusiastic team; We offer excellent support for Assistant Psychologists, including a regular Assistant Psychologists Group to encourage professional development and networking.There are strong links with the University of Sheffield Clinical Psychology Unit. Individual weekly supervision will be provided and continuing professional development is strongly supported as appropriate to the terms of contract.
We are committed to supporting our staff and have a well-supported Staff Engagement and Wellbeing Group. The attached document outlines our department strategy.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please view the attached Job Description and Person Specification documents for full details regarding this post.
When completing your application please ensure that you clearly demonstrate how you meet the role criteria.
Person specification
Education and Qualifications
Essential criteria- Eligible for membership of the British Psychological Society
- Upper-second class honours degree or higher in Psychology
- Further post graduate training in relevant areas of professional psychology, mental health practice and/or research design and analysis.
Experience
Essential criteria- Experience of working with people with mental health problems and/or other disabilities
- Experience of paid work in direct care provision
- Experience of carrying out neuropsychological testing
- Experience working in a physical health hospital setting.
Skills and Knowledge
Essential criteria- Knowledge of research methodology
- Ability to overcome psychological resistance to potentially threatening information.
- An ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a mental health context.
- An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with mental health problems, serious physical health problems or other disabilities.
- Experience in the use of databases or data-analysis, especially SPSS for Windows.
- High standard of report writing
Personal Qualities
Essential criteria- High level communication skills (written and verbal) including an ability to communicate effectively and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive
- An ability to interact effectively with staff from all disciplines
- An ability to interact with people with mental health problems, serious physical health problems or other disabilities.
- Capacity to work with clients/service users in potentially abusive or hostile working conditions
- Ability to work independently, reliably and consistently with work agreed and managed at regular intervals.
- Capable of using initiative and working independently
- Ability to accept and use supervision appropriately and effectively.
- Positive attitude, sensitivity and commitment to working with this client group.
- An interest in working in a hospital inpatient setting
- Interest in working with patients with long term conditions
- Interest in working with physical health multi-disciplinary teams
Candidates are advised to read the attached guidance on using AI technology. When you complete your application, you are required to declare that the information in your application form is true and complete. The personal statement is exactly that; personal.
When selecting to apply via NHS Jobs, you will be redirected to our preferred recruitment system called Trac. You will be asked to create and submit your application via the Trac recruitment system.
You will not be able to track the progress of your application or receive messages through the NHS Jobs website, and furthermore, as an employer, we will not be able to respond to any e-mails sent to us via the NHS Jobs website. All communications should be sent via your Trac system account.
If you are offered employment at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals your information will be transferred from the Trac recruitment system into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system. In addition, in submitting an application form, you authorise our Trust to confirm any previous NHS service details via the ESR IAT process should you be appointed.
Please note, all communication regarding your application will be made via email sent via the Trac recruitment system, please ensure you check your junk/spam folders as emails are sometimes filtered there.
The Trust is committed to its obligations in accordance with the Equality Act 2010, and we positively encourage applications from all sections of the community. Should you require any assistance in applying for the position please contact the General or Medical Human Resources Departments on the number identified on the NHS Jobs page for the organisation.
Job Share applicants are welcome for all full time posts unless indicated but cannot be guaranteed. In addition for Fixed Term Contracts, internal secondments may be considered, please seek the approval of your current line manager before applying for the position.
All employment with the Trust is subject to a number of NHS Employment Checks being met to a satisfactory standard including verification of identity, eligibility to work in the United Kingdom, references and qualifications in addition to professional registration, a disclosure and barring records check and occupational health check if these are deemed to be a requirement for the position to be undertaken.
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