Therapy Assistant Practitioner
Job overview
Do you have an interest and experience in movement or exercise-based therapy and breathwork as tools for healing? Are you passionate about helping people improve their quality of life?
We’re looking for a dedicated and compassionate person to join our multidisciplinary team as a Physiotherapy assistant. Our aim is to reduce the impact chronic pain has on patients’ lives as well as improve day to day function.
The successful candidate will work closely with the Specialist Pain Physiotherapist and Psychologist team to lead and support the running of groups as well as individual sessions with patients.
Part of the role is listening to patients and providing coaching to help patients make and sustain changes recommended from the Specialist Pain Physiotherapist and Psychologist team.
There will be regular teaching, training and supervision to help you support patients to learn and develop self-management strategies. There is also the opportunity to contribute to quality improvement and service development projects.
For an informal discussion about this role please contact Jessica Watts (Advance Physiotherapy Practitioner in Pain Management) [email protected]
Main duties of the job- To work under the indirect supervision of clinical specialist physiotherapist in Pain Management
- Carry out clinical tasks (such as instruction/supervision and prescription of pain management strategies) delegated by qualified staff
- To manage a specified patient caseload, to include patients with complex rehabilitation goals
- To facilitate group education and rehabilitation sessions
- Participate in continued personal development
Working for our organisation
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is committed to being an inclusive and disability confident employer and has been awarded the Gold for the Armed Forces Employment Recognition Scheme. We provide first class development opportunities for all staff and have a wide range of professional, management and leadership, and clinical skills training available.
Here at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, we know how important it is to have a healthy work life balance; this benefits not only individuals but the patients we care for too.
We encourage applications from people who wish to work on a flexible basis, recognising that flexibility may mean a range of different working patterns and hours, we do our utmost to work with our staff to meet their needs and the needs of our service and its users.
Frimley Health Trust benefits on Vimeo
Detailed job description and main responsibilities- Once competent teach, supervise and progress pain management strategies for a specific caseload without direction. This may include (but not exclusively)
- Basic breathing exercises
- Body awareness (e.g. mindfulness)
- Balance and strengthening exercises
- Using motivational interviewing techniques to empower patients to make lifestyle changes
- Patient education in individual and group setting
- To maintain clinical documentation as per policy
- Motivating patients to exercise and address barriers to compliance
- To be responsible for performing given tasks and reporting any concerns to the Band 7 therapist or appropriate member of the clinical team through daily feedback.
- To be aware of and adhere to Trust and local policies and procedures.
- To provide programmes (exercise prescription) of activity that have a therapeutic basis following evidenced based guidelines laid down by the Specialist therapists.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria- GCSE or equivalent qualification in English and Mathematics
- NVQ Level 3 or equivalent
- Foundation Degree or equivalent in related field / or willingness to work towards
Competencies
Essential criteria- Interpersonal skills to include concise and effective verbal and written communication
- Ability to instruct and motivate
- Organisational skills, ability to prioritise and manage day.
- Logical, ability to problem solve
- IT skills
- Ability to conduct and respond to risk assessments
- Ability to critically appraise own performance
- To be able to organise and deliver a health education session either in 1:1 or group sessions
- Basic understanding of chronic pain and its impact on the therapy intervention
- Negotiation skills, able to overcome barriers to exercise
- Motivational interviewing
- Awareness of biopsychosocial approach to patient care
- Awareness of psychological models e.g. Acceptance and commitment therapy
Professional / Specialist / Functional Experience
Essential criteria- Experience as Band 3 Therapy assistant within a NHS setting or equivalent experience
- Leading and delivering exercise programmes in a hospital setting or equivalent
- Experience of working directly with patients/clients
- Knowledge of anatomy/physiology
- Specific clinical knowledge relevant to speciality
- Undertaking exercise prescription for people with long term conditions
- Evaluating outcomes of exercise or use of equipment
- Knowledge of therapy interventions acquired through training or experience within a healthcare setting
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust (FHFT) has an outstanding reputation and a proud record of achievement. As a well performing, well led and ambitious Foundation Trust, we have exciting times ahead of us. We have an ongoing commitment to improving the health and care services for the 900,000 people we serve across Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey and south Buckinghamshire.
We are proud of the ambitions laid out in our strategy, Our Future FHFT, including our vision to be a leader in health & wellbeing, delivering excellence for our communities.
We continue to invest in our services and facilities, including a £10 million upgrade to the hospital maternity unit as well as £49m major new Emergency Assessment Centre on our Wexham Park site. The opening of a brand new £100m state of the art hospital which replaced the existing hospital facility at Heatherwood and are planning to invest further in diagnostics and inpatient capacity at Frimley Park.
We have also made significant investment in our quality improvement and digital programmes to support our vision and we will ensure that we achieve our aim of providing the highest quality healthcare to our patients. Our new EPR – Epic – went live in June and we are already beginning to reap the benefits of this ambitious investment.
Our three core values, and the behaviours that support them, guide everything we do and set out what we expect of our staff in the way they treat patients, visitors, service users and each other, Committed to Excellence, Working Together and Facing the Future.