Podiatry Apprentice
Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.
Job overview
Bedfordshire Community Health Services Podiatry department have an exciting opportunity for a Podiatry apprentice to join our innovative and supportive team.
Podiatry in ELFT is a growing profession and is key to our Allied Health Professions (AHP's) support in integrated patient care.
The graduate Podiatry apprenticeship programme is a new fully funded route towards qualification as a HCPC registered Podiatrist.
Podiatrists are registered healthcare professionals specializing in the lower limb (feet, ankles, legs) providing high quality clinical care to people of all ages.
A Podiatrist's job is to work to protect people's feet, providing preventative advice, care, assessment, diagnosis and treatment of a range of problems affecting the lower limb.
Main duties of the job
The apprenticeship is a four year programme of work based learning that is directly related to the Apprenticeship standard.
The University based Honours degree study is also linked to the Apprenticeship standard.
In addition, the apprenticeship has a mandatory 40% off the job learning.
It is scheduled to commence in September '25 with interviews to take place in March '25.
Working for our organisation
Our Podiatry Service is a diverse, supportive and innovative team. Our work has been included in 3 national guides published by NHS England and NHS Benchmarking:
- Collaborative care home training project tackling pressure ulcer prevention and diabetic foot disease
- Diabetes transformation reducing amputations and bed nights in hospital
- The role of Podiatry in primary care
As an organisation we take AHP development seriously, we have a strong emerging AHP Strategy supporting clinical preceptorship and development to improve staff experience.
Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Eligibility:
You will be able to demonstrate how you can use your experiences in contributing to becoming a Podiatrist.
Understanding the scope of practice and role of the Podiatrist in context of the team and the organisation, and how the role may contribute to service development.
You will treat people with dignity, respecting individual's diversity, beliefs, culture, needs, values, privacy ans preferences.
You will show respect and empathy for those you work with, have the courage to challenge areas of concern and work to evidence based best practice.
You will also be adaptable, reflective, reliable and consistent, show discretion, resilience, self-awareness, emotional intelligence and show leadership.
In addition, you must be able to meet the following criteria:
Grade C or Level 5 or above in GCSE English and Maths or functional skills level 2 (equivalent to GCSE Grade C)
Applicants are expected to demonstrate evidence of recent academic achievement within the last 5 years, such that they may be deemed capable of study at degree level
Able to evidence the ability to study at a Higher Education level
Right of abode in the UK, meeting University admission
One of the following is also required:
Qualification and Credit Framework Level 3 in Care or equivalent in terms of both academic and previous care experience
Access to HE Diploma (QAA approved) with 60 credits overall and 45 credits at level 3 - all distinctions including Biology or Chemistry
120 UCAS points / A Levels with Science background
Programme content:
The academic part of the training will be provided by the University of East London (UEL) where you will undertake modules as detailed below: -
Professional Practice and mental healthAnatomy and physiology
Podiatric Practice, pathology, pharmacology, Musculoskeletal (MSK) assessment and management
Clinical reasoning and research methods.
Key areas of practice for Podiatry students: Patients with problems related to endocrine & rheumatological function
Patients with problems related to musculoskeletal function and sporting activitiesPatients with problems related to neurological function
Patients with problems related to dermatological function
Patients requiring nail surgery
Patients located in a variety of healthcare and community settings
This is a developmental role via the Podiatry (Integrated Degree) Apprenticeship standard over 4 years.
You will work towards successful completion of a BSc (Hons) degree in Podiatry and recognition by the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) as an Allied Health Professional (AHP) Podiatrist.
You will develop and maintain knowledge, skills and competencies related to the role of a Podiatrist through your apprenticeship within the service as well as through completion of the Podiatry Apprenticeship training programme. This includes working in clinic and community care settings, and delivery of direct person-centred care.Whilst undertaking this training you will work within the service as a Podiatry Apprentice, where your role will reflect your learning.
The clinical part of your training will be provided across the county of Bedfordshire.
Person specification
Education/Qualification/Training
Essential criteria- Grade C in GCSE English and Maths
- Applicants are expected to demonstrate evidence of recent academic achievement (within last 5 years) such that they may be deemed capable of study at degree level.
- Qualifications and Credit Framework Level 3 in Care or equivalent in terms of both academic attainment and previous care experience
- Access to HE Diploma (QAA approved) with 60 credits overall and 45 credits at level 3 – All distinctions including Biology or Chemistry
- 120 UCAS points / A Levels with a science background
Experience
Desirable criteria- Previous experience of working within a health / care setting
Knowledge and skills
Essential criteria- Able to convey tasks and actions to colleagues and service users.
- Ability to assist patients to achieve safe working environments for treatments to be carried out.
- Ability to perform treatments in a variety of settings such as clinics, residential homes, patients own homes and nursing care sites.
- Ability to drive, access to own transport, current driving licence, transporting equipment needed for patient care and education sessions in and out of a car
Other
Essential criteria- Ability to develop & maintain positive working relationships with professionals and non-professional colleagues & clients
- Ability to empathise and sympathise with a diverse range of people remaining professional at all times.
- Ability to work effectively as a team player under appropriate supervision, and as part of a multi- disciplinary team
- Insight into how to reflect and evaluate own strengths and development needs, seeking advice where appropriate.
Making Things Better
Quality Improvement is a key part of our work to improve our services and refine how we do things. We have a global reputation for our quality improvement work and we don’t stand still! So we offer a fantastic opportunity for our staff to learn, lead and contribute towards improving our services.
We launched our Five Year Strategy in April 2018, which identified four main strategic outcomes to improve: population health outcomes, experience of care, staff experience and improve value. This complements the NHS Long Term Strategy and sets out our direction of travel.
Our Community
We provide a wide range of community health and mental health inpatient services to children, young people, adults of working age, and older adults in The City of London, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Bedfordshire and Luton. We also provide psychological therapy services to the London Borough of Richmond, and provide Forensic services to the whole of North East London.We provide services in urban and rural settings, sometimes in our inpatient units, but mostly in the community close to where people live. Integrated care is key in making the best use of resources and providing effective care.
Aiming High
We were rated ‘Outstanding’ by the CQC in 2016, were proud to be rated ‘Outstanding’ again in 2018 and continue to be rate 'Outstanding' in 2021.. We were named in the HSJ’s Top 10 best places to work in healthcare and were voted Provider Trust of the Year in 2018.
Staff and Service Users United
We strive to ensure that staff feel valued by the Trust and as they are truly pivotal in delivering better outcomes for our patients and service users. Our aspiration is to help to make ELFT the best place to work. This Trust is clinician-led and provides the highest possible level of clinical expertise throughout its services.We pride ourselves on our service user involvement. A service user will be on your assessment centre and interview panel if you are invited to meet us.
We especially welcome people with lived experience of health difficulties, with insight and understanding of different backgrounds, cultures and lifestyles in our population as we believe that this will equip staff to deliver a high standard of care to our service users and patients.
Diversity
ELFT Is committed to being a diverse organisation and our workforce is reflective of the population and communities we serve. We believe that having colleagues with a range of backgrounds and life experiences enriches and adds value to the outcomes we have set out to achieve.Having partnered and endorsed by organisations who are representative and experts in various areas of equality and diversity, we can ensure we are meeting the pre-set standards all the way from recruitment stage throughout the career journey of our employees by being accessible, having fair inclusive practices and a host of staff networks to support, nurture and celebrate our valued staff in the workplace.
Other reasons to apply
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s job share, part time or another flexible pattern.
As part of the relocation scheme we presently have, the Trust could support you with offering up to £10,000 for removal and associated expenses. This is subject to change and terms and conditions apply.
What Next?
If you like the sound of ELFT, don’t waste a moment. We sometimes close adverts early if there is a high response, so apply now!
As part of our recruitment process we may be required to share information you provide on the application form with NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) and/or other organisations for the purpose of the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of fraud or any other unlawful activity affecting the NHS.We also use third party providers to check and verify your qualifications who may be contacting you on our behalf to verify the same..
If you do not hear from us within four weeks of the closing date, please consider that you have not been shortlisted on this occasion. You must provide professional email addresses for all referees as we will contact them as soon as an offer has been made.Please note we do not request references prior to interviews. All applications made through NHS Jobs account will be processed by TRAC System. Please note that some emails may go to your spam/junk mailbox so make sure you check this regularly.
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