Registered Nurse post at St Peter & St James Hospice, providing specialist palliative and end of life care across inpatient, community and hospice services. The work centres on assessing, planning and evaluating patient care, managing symptoms and medicines, and supporting patients and families through illness and bereavement. Shifts vary across hospice and community settings, and the post includes leading shifts and mentoring Healthcare Assistants and students. Current NMC registration and experience managing complex needs and end of life medicines are required.
What the job involves
- Provide palliative and end of life nursing care through assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation
- Carry out clinical assessments and review patient needs regularly
- Administer prescribed medicines and manage symptoms to promote comfort
- Support patients and families in care planning and decisions, acting as advocate where appropriate
- Give emotional support to patients, families and carers through illness, end of life and bereavement
- Lead shifts, coordinating patient care and staff resources
- Maintain a safe, therapeutic environment in hospice and community settings, including clinical areas and equipment to required standards
- Supervise, support and mentor Healthcare Assistants, students, trainees and other staff
- Keep accurate, confidential and up-to-date patient records in line with professional and legal requirements
- Work with multidisciplinary teams and external healthcare professionals to coordinate care
- Contribute to clinical governance, quality improvement, audits and service development
- Report and manage incidents, complaints and risks in line with organisational policies
Qualifications
Registration & licences
Experience
- Experienced registered nurse
- Experience managing complex needs and medicines at the end of life
- Knowledge of symptom control towards and at the end of life, including pharmacological management
Skills & knowledge
- Understanding of current professional nursing issues in palliative and end of life care
- Confident IT use with knowledge of data protection and information governance
- Ability to work under pressure and flexibly across clinical settings and shift patterns
- Excellent verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills
- Good command of spoken English, assessed at interview
- Numeracy skills
Other
- Leadership skills, including motivational and collaborative working
- Ability to use initiative, work autonomously and prioritise workload
- Positive change agent with an enthusiastic, assertive attitude
- Caring, kind, empathetic and compassionate
- Sensitivity, compassion and confidentiality, and ability to cope with sensitive issues
Nice to have
- Study at level 6 in relevant subjects
- Clinical supervision, mentorship or recognised teaching qualification
- Experience in community nursing, palliative care, end of life care, oncology or general medical nursing
- Experience in research, audit, standard setting or clinical governance
- Experience delivering training
- Awareness of the Health & Social Care Act 2012, NMC Code and CQC key lines of enquiry for hospices
What’s offered
- Supportive working environment
- Opportunities for professional development
- Involvement in education and service improvement projects