Echocardiographer

FCMS (NW) LTD; Loughborough; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

FCMS NW Ltd invites applications for an independent echocardiography practitioner to perform and report adult transthoracic echocardiograms in a community setting. You will lead clinical practice, prioritise workload and maintain BSE/EACVI accreditation while working within a multidisciplinary team.

You will attend MDT meetings, provide expert knowledge, ensure equipment is maintained and contribute to staff training and service improvement.

Qualifications

• Independently perform adult transthoracic echocardiograms to BSE standards.
• Maintain and update CPD and accreditation in echocardiography.
• Work within regulatory standards and departmental policies.

Responsibilities

• Independently perform and report adult transthoracic Echocardiograms to current BSE standards.
• Organise and prioritise own daily workload based on clinical urgency.
• Provide a clinical report in a timely manner and inform the referring clinician of any findings that would necessitate a change in clinical management.
• Analyse and interpret complex information using best practice and make autonomous decisions based on the information provided.
• Maintain own CPD and BSE / EACVI accreditation.
• Be aware of and comply with all health and safety protocols as set out by the organization.
• Actively participate in MDT meetings providing specialist knowledge to other echocardiographers and medical staff.

Skills

Clinical leadership

Multidisciplinary teamwork

CPD maintenance

Excellent communication

Education

BSc in Healthcare Science / Cardiac Physiology

BTEC HNC or equivalent

Tools

BSE/EACVI TTE Adult Accredited

Job description

The post holder will be a fully independent practitioner performing and reporting a full range of adult Echocardiograms in a community setting to BSE standards. They will demonstrate clinical leadership and work as part of a multidisciplinary team.

Clinical and Technical

• To independently perform and report adult transthoracic Echocardiograms to current BSE standards.
• Organise and prioritise own daily workload based on clinical urgency.
• Provide a clinical report in a timely manner and inform the referring clinician of any findings that would necessitate a change in clinical management.
• To analyse and interpret complex information using best practice and make autonomous decisions based on the information provided.
• Maintain own CPD and BSE / EACVI accreditation.
• Keep up to date with current developments and advances in Echocardiography and general Cardiology.
• Respond promptly to emergencies.
• To deliver appropriate patient care at all times.
• To establish and maintain good working relationships with all members of the organisation.
• To actively take part in the training and development of staff / trainees.
• To maintain patient confidentiality in line with corporate policy at all times.
• Actively participate in MDT meetings providing specialist knowledge to other echocardiographers and medical staff.
• To ensure that all equipment is in working order and report faults without delay.
• To evaluate and assess new equipment prior to purchase in collaboration with the Echo lead.
• Be aware of and comply with all health and safety protocols as set out by the organization.
• To be aware of the health and safety implications for Echocardiographers in relation to ergonomics whilst scanning and take all necessary steps to minimise injury to oneself.
• Ensure stock levels are adequate to meet service needs.
• The postholder may be required to travel to remote clinical locations (Full UK Driving license is preferable with access to their own vehicle).

Managerial

• Support the Echocardiography lead to ensure delivery of a high-quality and efficient Echocardiography service by proposing and implementing changes to develop and improve service provision.
• To ensure all accidents, incidents and complaints are recorded / escalated appropriately.

Professional

• To work within the standards set by the British Society Echocardiography.
• To attend and participate in departmental and Echo service delivery meetings.
• Ensure professional regulatory and accreditation requirements are maintained.
• Maintain personal performance and quality standards as agreed in the staff appraisal review.
• Actively maintain own professional development, identifying educational and clinical training needs in conjunction with the head of department.
• Maintain status on either the Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS) register or Health and Care Professions Council register (HCPC).

Educational

• Ensure personal mandatory training is up to date.
• Actively participate in educational echo meetings.
• Attend and actively participate in MDT meetings.
• Provide clinical leadership and assist with the educational development of all members within the echo department to ensure delivery of a high‑quality echocardiography service.
• To attend Regional and National professional meetings and to feed back any relevant information to staff.
• Attend annual personal appraisal review.
• Maintain involvement with professional bodies.
• Continue to develop skills and knowledge in Echocardiography, maintaining the accreditation acquired through accredited courses in line with current clinical practice and techniques.
• Participate in resuscitation training to maintain the BLS resuscitation council qualification.

Communication and Administration

• Excellent communication skills.
• Have excellent interpersonal skills to manage patient/relative contacts where there may be hostility (e.g. anxious, confused or aggressive patient), or poor understanding (e.g. language, impaired vision or hearing).
• Maintain dignity and respect to all stakeholders.
• Respect cultural differences.
• Regularly keep colleagues informed of any occurrences that may impact on service delivery.
• Communicate complicated information effectively within the multi-disciplinary team.
• Excellent IT skills.
• Maintain up to date computerised data collection.
• To ensure the accuracy and legibility of all collected data.
• Completion of test reports in a timely manner following each patient contact.
• All report filing is distributed at the end of each session.
• Plan workload by making best use of resources available to ensure that waiting times are minimised.

Physical Demands of the Post

The post holder should be:

• Physically capable of maintaining correct posture for long periods of time whilst scanning, moving and positioning of patients and equipment often in a restricted environment.
• Able to deal with distressing and emotionally challenging incidents on a regular basis.
• Concentrating for long periods of time.
• Extended periods of working in a darkened environment.
• Frequent exposure to unpleasant conditions and prolonged periods of concentration.
• Close contact with infectious patients, contact with bodily fluids, vomit and poor hygiene.
• Contact with verbally and physically aggressive patients.
• VDU equipment is used daily for data acquisition, data entry and report writing.
• Safely move and handle patients and/or equipment as required for the role.

Confidentiality

All employees of FCMS NW Ltd must comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018 and are required to maintain complete confidentiality in relation to patients and other staff members at all times.

Our key expectations are:

• Self-awareness Living authentically
• Adaptability- Being ready to adjust depending on the situation
• Openness What you see is what you get
• Positivity with a real sense of being able to stride for the impossible
• Generosity of spirit- Everyday should be an opportunity to act with kindness
• Ability to have fun Taking the role seriously, whilst being yourself

Values:

• Fun: People rarely succeed unless they are having fun. Happiness is healthy!
• Awesome: We arent here to be average, were here to be awesome!
• Humble: Were here to make a difference to the lives of others, NOT to see how important we can become
• Brave: We challenge the norm. We have the courage to get the difficult jobs done
• Oompf: We have natural oompf! Its infectious!
• Go-getting: We are intuitive to changing needs and respond quickly which we do with energy, ideas, and positivity

Disability Confident Employer

As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy.

DBS

DBS - This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exemption Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions. This will require three forms of valid ID to be produced and verified. The onboarding process is also subject to an Occupational Health check, suitable professional references and eligibility to work in the UK (with the requirement to provide relevant documentation as evidence). For Driver positions you will also be required to undertake a Driver check.

Safeguarding

The organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment. You will be expected to fulfil your mandatory safeguarding training at the level applicable to this role.

Person Specification

Other

Essential

• Hold a valid Full UK Driving license with access to their own vehicle.
• Have adequate means of transport in order to get to clinical locations. This may include last minute changes to site location.
• Be able to speak English as necessary to undertake the role.

Essential

• BSc in Healthcare Science /Cardiac Physiology or BTEC HNC or equivalent.
• BSE/EACVI TTE Adult Accredited.
• AHCS or HCPC Registered.

Experience

Essential

• Will be fully competent in carrying out full study BSE echocardiograms including strain assessments.
• To possess advanced sensory skills, dexterity and co-ordination when using advanced diagnostic equipment.
• Ability to obtain all cardiac ultrasound views as both described in the BSE minimum dataset on both technically easy and challenging patients, utilising optimal patient positioning and technical skills.
• Able to manage the need for changes