Clinical Psychologist
Job overview
We are seeking to recruit an enthusiastic Band 7 (1.0 WTE), for a permanent post working with children and teenagers who have cancer and with their families. In addition the post includes working 1 day a week in the CHAMP (persistent pain) service with children and teenagers with cancer in the CHAMP team you will be part of a multi-disciplinary team consisting of a pain consultant, a clinical nurse specialist, a physiotherapist and a psychologist.This is an exciting opportunity to join an experienced multi-disciplinary medical and nursing oncology unit, where leadership, innovation, research, teaching and training are strongly encouraged. The psychology service provides a comprehensive assessment, consultation and support service both internally and externally to the Unit.
The role encompasses both clinical and neuro psychological work. This is a very well-established psychology team, with excellent professional and compassionate staff, very well supported by our efficient and caring administration team within a cancer Centre of Excellence.
Main duties of the job- To contribute to the systematic provision of a high-quality specialist clinical psychology service to paediatric oncology patients and to their families, within the working context of the paediatric psychosocial team and within the wider context of the multidisciplinary team.
- To supervise junior members of the psychology team and other members of the multidisciplinary team who provide psychologically based care and treatment.
- To provide clinical psychology services for the pain pathway.
- To contribute to the CHAMP multi-disciplinary clinic, supporting children with cancer and persistent pain.
- To offer evidence-based psychological therapy to children and young people referred to the CHAMP service.
- To work autonomously within professional guidelines.
- To utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research.
- To propose and implement policy changes within the paediatric oncology clinical psychology and CHAMP service
- To provide specialist advice and consultation on patients’ psychological care to non-psychologist colleagues
- To work autonomously within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of the psychological practice within the service.
Working for our organisation
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is a world-leading cancer centre. Our role is to offer our patients the best cancer care available anywhere in the world, and to continue to make a global contribution to finding better ways of diagnosing and treating cancer.We employ over 4,500 staff in a diverse range of careers including nursing, medical, science, radiography, pharmacy, occupational therapy, finance and administrative services. We have two hospitals – one in Chelsea, London, and one in Sutton, Surrey – as well as a Medical Daycare Unit in Kingston Hospital.
At The Royal Marsden, we deal with cancer every day, so we understand how valuable life is. When people entrust their lives to us, they have the right to demand the very best. That's why the pursuit of excellence lies at the heart of everything we do.
At the heart of the hospital is our dedicated team. We offer a stimulating and dynamic working environment, a wide range of staff benefits, learning and development opportunities and clear career pathways. There are opportunities to work flexibly across a range of areas and specialities and we welcome flexible working requests from point of hire to support employees work life balance.We are looking for employees who aspire to excellence, share our values and can play a crucial role in our on-going achievements.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For further information, please refer to the Job Description/Person Specification
These responsibilities will be carried out under the guidance of consultant Clinical psychologist (Paediatric and Teenage Psychology Service)- To provide clinical psychology services for the pain pathway.
- To offer consultation regarding pain management issues for qualified and unqualified clinical psychology staff in the team.
- To be responsible for offering a comprehensive clinical psychology service for children and young people with pain and cancer, and their families.
- To receive regular clinical professional supervision from a senior clinical psychologist and, where appropriate, other senior professional colleagues.
- To develop skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision and to provide supervision to other MDT staff’s psychological work, as appropriate.
- To provide professional and clinical supervision of assistant/graduate psychologists and trainee clinical psychologists.
- To participate in the development of the CHAMP service with the team leads.
- To participate in the systematic governance of psychological practice within the CHAMP service.
- To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the team’s operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.
- To advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.
Person specification
Education
Essential criteria- Post-Graduate Doctoral level training in Clinical Psychology (or its equivalent)
- Valid HCPC registration, or eligible for HCPC registration following completion of an HCPC accredited course
- Evidence of continuing professional development
- Training in one or more additional therapies with an evidence base for chronic pain.
Experience
Essential criteria- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the lifespan and presenting with the full range of clinical severity.
- Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in-patient settings.
- Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for patients’ psychological care and treatment, both as either as a trainee clinical psychologist or as a newly qualified clinician and within a multidisciplinary team
- Experience of teaching and training other professionals
- Theoretical and practical knowledge of neuropsychology and experience in neuropsychological testing
- Experience of working in paediatric psychology
- xperience of working collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams within a hospital setting
- Experience of providing clinical supervision.
- Experience of providing psychological pain management interventions
- Experience as the sole psychologist within an MDT
Skills
Essential criteria- Doctoral level knowledge and experience in research design and methodology.
- An ability to initiate and implement research projects
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment and intervention frequently requiring use of sustained and intense concentration
- A high-level ability to communicate potentially complex and sensitive information effectively at both a written and oral level, both to patients and their families, carers, and a wide range of lay and professional persons within and outside of NHS
- The ability to maintain a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
- Skills in providing consultation and advice to other professional and non-professional groups
- Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings
- Ability to identify, and employ, as appropriate, clinical governance and audit mechanisms to reflect, assess and maintain the effectiveness of clinical practice.
- Enthusiasm for clinical psychology, health psychology and working with children, young people and families.
- An interest in service development and delivery
- Ability to effectively manage competing demands.
- Ability to provide and promote appropriate support to carers and staff
- Willingness to keep abreast of literature and of new developments in the field
- Computer literate, and ability to use multi-media materials for presentations
- Ability to articulate and interpret the role of clinical psychology, within both local and national contexts
- An ability to work as the sole psychologist within an MDT, with support from the wider Paediatric and Teenage Psychological Support Service.
- Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapy for use in physical health settings.
- Knowledge of legislation and implications for clinical practice
- A commitment to evaluation of services, including audit
- A wish to continue to develop expertise in area of paediatrics.
- Experience of working in a multi-cultural framework
The Royal Marsden values diversity and is committed to the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority groups. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates and candidates with disabilities.
As a Disability Confident Employer, we are working to create a workplace that enables all staff to reach their full potential. We are committed to this because we know that greater diversity and inclusion will lead to an even greater positive impact for the people we serve.
Due to the high volumes of applications we receive, we reserve the right to close any adverts before the published closing date once we have received a sufficient number of applications. We advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment.
All applicants will be contacted by email to the address supplied on your application. Applicants are advised to check their email accounts regularly and to ensure that email filters are set to allow our emails.
Flu Vaccination – What We Expect of our Staff
At The Royal Marsden we have an immune compromised patient population who we must protect as much as we can against the flu virus. Each year, seasonal flu affects thousands of people in the UK. Occurring mainly in winter, it is an infectious respiratory disease capable of producing symptoms ranging from those similar to a common cold, through to very severe or even fatal disease.
The wellbeing of our staff and patients is of the upmost importance to us, and it is the expectation of The Royal Marsden that all patient-facing staff have an annual flu vaccination, provided free of charge by the Trust.