Senior Ot Neuro-Oncology

Overview

Post Title :

Senior Occupational Therapist in Neuro Oncology

Post Status : Permanent

Department : Occupational Therapy

Location :

Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9

Reports to :

Line Manager Title : Mr. Paul Bernard

Salary :

Appointment will be made on Senior Occupational Therapist scale (€63 912 - €75 254) at a point in line with Government pay policy.

Hours of work : Full-time 35 Hours

Closing Date :

26 / 09 / 2025 @ 12.00pm

Position Summary :

The successful candidate will deliver an integrated expert service to meet the occupational therapy needs of our inpatient wards.

They will join an experienced team of occupational therapists and multidisciplinary colleagues delivering our inpatient services.

The post holder will work in a dynamic team that consistently deliver safe and effective care to a complex caseload.

They will work closely with the wider multidisciplinary team to focus on service improvement work.

They will work in collaboration with the occupational therapy manager and occupational therapists in planning, coordinating, delivering and evaluating the wider service.

The caseload will be based across more than one ward and there will be an expectation to be flexible and offer support / cover to any of the umbrella group services if required i.e. during periods of extreme demand, unexpected or unplanned leave.

The OT manager welcomes informal enquiries to discuss this post.

The Occupational Therapist should abide by the Code of Ethics of the Association of Occupational Therapists of Ireland.

Responsibilities

Accountability :

The senior occupational therapist is accountable to the occupational therapy manager, Beaumont Hospital.

Professionalism

Represent the occupational therapy profession and promote the profile of occupational therapy throughout the organisation, nationally and internationally

Demonstrate sound clinical reasoning based on experience and clinical expertise within the service area.

Respect the values, beliefs and needs of patients and staff and include patients in decision-making processes as appropriate

Support and delegate appropriately to occupational therapy staff working within the service area.

Interpret standards of practice, as well as professional codes of conduct, professional and organisational policies ensuring they are incorporated into occupational therapy practice within the service area.

Recognise when it is appropriate to refer decisions to a higher level of authority and include colleagues in the decision making process

Promote initiatives in the service area that will ensure a high standard of professional practice development in line with improved patient care

Demonstrate understanding and respect for the roles of all members of the MDT

Keep up-to-date with developments within the service area in own organisation, professional body, nationally and internationally and apply to practice as appropriate

Manage own work-life balance and support others (e.g. occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants) with same

Contribute professional expertise to wider organisational initiatives / committees / steering groups at local, national and international level

Provide specialist support to the service area staff

Managing a Caseload

Demonstrate advanced clinical reasoning and problem solving skills in completing occupational therapy assessments and interventions with patients referred from the service areas.

Use advanced prioritisation and planning skills to ensure patients are placed on the appropriate pathway and the timely completion of onward referrals to other services

Demonstrate an advanced proficiency in ability to screen and prioritise patients according to clinical needs using clinical reasoning skills and providing support to all occupational therapy staff working in the COE service areas.

Prioritise and maximise effectiveness of intervention using available resources to ensure service demands are optimally met e.g. appropriate delegation to occupational therapy colleagues and occupational therapy assistants

Ensure collaboration with other relevant MDT colleagues for complex patient presentation to ensure holistic approach to patient care

Balance clinical demands with other responsibilities (e.g. research, administration, service development, teaching, CPD, staff supervision) through effective time management and organisational skills

Communication

Communicate oral and written information in a clear, concise and well-structured manner appropriate to the content and the target audience

Build and maintain effective relationships with colleagues at clinical and management levels within the service

Facilitate and maintain open communication within own service and department

Promote and foster effective cross discipline communications and evaluation processes with MDT colleagues, advocating shared discharge planning for optimal patient care

Deal constructively with obstacles and conflict to ensure patient focused decision-making within the MDT

Build relations and links with community colleagues, working together to promote and enhance appropriate patient pathways for a seamless service

Ensure that communication with patients and families / carers is appropriate and timely and develop written resource packs for patients / carers as indicated

Present lectures, service evaluation, audit and research projects at local, national and international level

Negotiate clearly and effectively with relevant stakeholders

Planning, Maintaining and Evaluating a Quality Service

Demonstrate an advanced level of clinical knowledge and skills of various presentations and risk factors and provide senior support in decision-making for other occupational therapy staff

Working with MDT colleagues, demonstrate excellent clinical skills in the service area, assisting with advanced diagnostic, prognostic and patient management within the service

Demonstrate advanced knowledge of care pathways appropriate to patients attending the service and proactively work with senior MDT colleagues to design and implement processes to improve flow for patients

Take a key role in discharge planning

Recognise appropriate services and supports (OT, MDT and other) to optimise patient outcomes and identify the need for appropriate onward consultation or referral

Design and implement processes and procedures to ensure the highest standards of practice are met in the Medical Rehab occupational therapy service by establishing governance systems

Report emerging risk issues to the occupational therapy manager and other relevant senior staff within the service / umbrella group.

Work collaboratively with the MDT to identify, plan and implement interdisciplinary practices

Foster and lead a culture and practice of evaluating service outcomes and other data collection and implementing quality improvement initiatives as appropriate

Develop and implement strategic service and business plans, quality initiatives, audits etc. based on up to date evidence based practice and report on outcomes in collaboration with the occupational therapy manager and other stakeholders

Oversee, evaluate and advise the occupational therapy manager on optimal resource utilisation for effective service delivery and optimal patient and service outcomes

Leadership and Service Development

Understand the principles of the operational management of the service and be responsible for the day-to-day management of this clinical speciality area

Act as an expert occupational therapy clinical resource for the neuroscience MDT, occupational therapy service and students

Promote the role of occupational therapy service in the service in the organisation and at national and international level

Lead senior clinical decision-making processes in the service

Identify and prioritise the requirements of the service within a constantly changing environment

Develop guidelines for safe and effective practice in the Medical Rehab occupational therapy service

Refine and advance occupational therapy practice in service area and develop formal links with appropriate national and international networks in any of the specialities under the umbrella group.

Represent the occupational therapy service nationally and internationally as required

Deputise for the occupational therapy manager in his / her absence as required

Explore and champion new initiatives, practices and models of care, in line with best practice, to improve the patient experience and outcome

Seek to identify and avail of opportunities to assist with and contribute to strategic planning e.g. development of business cases

Develop and implement new service initiatives in collaboration with appropriate stakeholders such as occupational therapy manager, MDT members etc.

Assist the occupational therapy manager in the recruitment of staff

Ensure that an efficient system of stock control is maintained

Act as a role model for occupational therapy staff and staff of other professions, in the areas of clinical competence, attitude and enthusiasm of occupational therapy, being available as a resource for staff

Collate and analyse workload statistics required for departmental purposes and for service reviews

Evidence- Based Practice

Demonstrate an excellent level of knowledge of evidence in relation to service

Apply this excellent knowledge to local practice, working with colleagues to implement the necessary steps to achieve the highest possible standard of care

Monitor and evaluate effectiveness of interventions within the service and modify accordingly where new evidence emerges or where evidence base is incomplete

Monitor and report on the use of best practice clinical standards and guidelines in the occupational therapy COE service areas and apply this specialist knowledge within the service

Demonstrate expert understanding of service demands and trends and design processes, in consultation with the occupational therapy manager, to ensure demands are appropriately met

Champion and lead the development of occupational therapy in service area, working with experts / partners nationally and internationally to advance practice

Research

1. Understand the principles of research and research methodology which underpin an analytical approach to clinical practice

2. Lead and facilitate research projects relevant to the service at local or national level

3. Collaborate with all relevant stakeholders in respect of relevant research projects

4. Co-ordinate and promote departmental research in conjunction with the occupational therapy department and the departmental strategic plan

5. Publish research, case studies and critical reviews in peer-reviewed publications

6. Lead the dissemination of research findings locally and nationally within occupational therapy and the wider healthcare arena

7. Explore innovative ways to contribute to research related to service area.

8. Research and report on emerging practices and new evaluation tools for the occupational therapy service

9. Identify gaps in the evidence base and initiate / facilitate research to enhance evidence based practice locally, nationally and internationally

Act as a Clinical Resource

Act in an advanced clinical advisory role to own colleagues and MDT

Identify the need for appropriate onward consultation

Represent the profession / HSCPs at local, national and international level

Act as a clinical advisor, nationally and internationally

Continuing Professional Development

Identify own personal and professional learning needs and seek support from occupational therapy manager as indicated

Facilitate staff in identifying their own development needs and addressing these needs through planned learning, clinical supervision and professional support as required

Deliver appropriate and effective feedback and be receptive to feedback

Design service area plans and implement training processes to meet these needs

Provide education, supervision, mentoring and support for senior and occupational therapists in the service area.

Contribute to MDT education as appropriate

Plan, deliver and evaluate education, training and health promotion activities, incorporating inter-professional education models as appropriate

Identify and avail of formal and informal learning opportunities within occupational therapy and MDT contexts

Provide safe and effective under-graduate clinical placements

Provide expert advice and training to network, national and international colleagues in the field

Provide guest lecturing / education in the field of occupational therapy as required by the HEIs / others

Take the lead on occupational therapy input into post graduate clinical placements

Contribute to educational policy and education of pre and post qualifying practitioner

The above Duties list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him / her, from time to time, and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.

Qualifications

Selection Criteria :

Selection criteria outline the qualifications, skills, knowledge and / or experience that the successful candidate would need to demonstrate for successful discharge of the responsibilities of the post.

Applications will be assessed on the basis of how well candidates satisfy these criteria.

QUALIFICATIONS

Mandatory :

Candidates must, on the latest date for receiving completed application forms, possess :

a)

Hold a qualification approved by the Occupational Therapists Registration Board at CORU

b)

The Bachelor of Science (Honors) in Occupational Therapy from NUI Galway, the University of Dublin or University College Cork or

c)

A Master of Science from the University of Limerick or

d)

A Diplomafrom aCollege of Occupational Therapy or

e)

A recognised qualification at least equivalent to

(a) or

(b) or

(c) which has been validated by the Department of Health as broadly equivalent to the above qualifications

f)

Have at least three years satisfactory post qualification working experience as an occupational therapist in the adult acute hospital setting.

g)

Have a proven record of clinical / academic achievement including development in the specialist area

Desirable

1. Has sufficent clinical experience revelant to the role.

Informal Enquiries ONLY to :

Name :

Paul Bernard

Title :

Occupational Therapy Manager

Email address : Telephone :

#J-18808-Ljbffr