Sister/Charge Nurse - Critical care

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust; England; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust seeks a Band 6 Nurse in Charge for its ICU at Wexham Park Hospital. The role leads on patient care, supports colleagues, and drives leadership development within a 16-bed adult ICU/HDU setting.

The post offers opportunities for mentoring, teaching, and participation in leadership programmes, with flexible patterns to suit service needs. It requires substantial critical care experience and current NMC registration.

Qualifications

• RGN level 1 ENB100/equivalent critical care module.
• Current NMC registration.
• ENB 998 Teaching and assessing course or equivalent Mentorship preparation course.
• Desirable: ILS & ALS Experience.
• Desirable: Experience as a charge nurse in critical care.

Responsibilities

• Taking leadership of the responsibility for the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of patient care within the nursing team on a shift to shift basis, responding in an advisory capacity to acute changes in patient condition.
• To act as a credible clinical role model promoting a patient-centered approach to care, demonstrating advanced clinical practice skills and theoretical knowledge in caring for the complex needs of the critically ill patient.
• To develop standards of patient care based on sound research findings. To undertake the audit and evaluation of nursing care within the unit.
• To make a specialist contribution to teaching of nurses and other health care professionals, demonstrating collaborative working and understanding of the practice development strategy.
• Demonstrate a sound knowledge of infection control standards and promote these within the unit environment.
• Provide legible and comprehensive patient records to agreed Trust and NMC standards and guidelines.
• To deal with, in conjunction with the Senior Nursing Team, untoward incidents, complaints and team/staff issues.
• Actioning plans to prevent reoccurrence.
• To take on the role of Critical care Nurse in Charge, co-coordinating admissions, transfers and workload within the unit.

Skills

Leadership

Clinical leadership

Interpersonal skills

Critical care coordination

Prioritising workload

Education

RGN ENB100

Current NMC registration

ENB 998 mentorship course

Job description

We are seeking experienced and motivated Critical Care Nurses who have previously worked at a Band 6 Nurse in Charge (NIC) level within an Intensive Care Unit.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the dedicated team at Wexham Park Hospital Critical Care Unit, a 16-bed adult general ICU/HDU providing high-quality, compassionate care to a diverse range of acute medical and surgical patients.

As a senior member of the team, you will play a pivotal role in coordinating the delivery of safe, effective, and patient-centred care while supporting and developing colleagues within the critical care environment.

This Band 6 position offers a professionally rewarding and clinically stimulating role with extensive opportunities for learning, leadership development and career progression. Our structured leadership pathway includes participation in the Aspiring Clinical Leadership Programme, Immediate Life Support (ILS) training, team leader responsibilities with mentoring opportunities, bedside clinical teaching rotations, involvement in appraisals, and contributions to service improvement and key departmental projects.

If you are passionate about delivering clinical excellence, enjoy the challenges and rewards of critical care nursing, and are looking to further develop your leadership career within a supportive and welcoming team, Wexham Park ICU is the ideal place to take your next step.

Mainduties for this role include but are not limited to:

• Taking leadership of the responsibility for the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of patient care within the nursing team on a shift to shift basis, responding in an advisory capacity to acute changes in patient condition.
• To act as a credible clinical role model promoting a patient-centered approach to care, demonstrating advanced clinical practice skills and theoretical knowledge in caring for the complex needs of the critically ill patient.
• To develop standards of patient care based on sound research findings. To undertake the audit and evaluation of nursing care within the unit.
• To make a specialist contribution to teaching of nurses and other health care professionals, demonstrating collaborative working and understanding of the practice development strategy.
• Demonstrate a sound knowledge of infection control standards and promote these within the unit environment.
• Provide legible and comprehensive patient records to agreed Trust and NMC standards and guidelines.
• To deal with, in conjunction with the Senior Nursing Team, untoward incidents, complaints and team/staff issues.
• Actioning plans to prevent reoccurrence.
• To take on the role of Critical care Nurse in Charge, co-coordinating admissions, transfers and workload within the unit.

Working for our organisation

• Applications from candidates requiring Skilled Worker sponsorship are welcomed.
• Sponsorship may be available for applicants currently based in the UK who meet the relevant UKVI requirements and eligibility criteria.

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.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For a full list of responsibilities and tasks associated with this role, please refer to the job description/person specification attached to this vacancy.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• RGN level 1 ENB100/equivalent critical care module
• Current NMC registration
• ENB 998 Teaching and assessing course or equivalent Mentorship preparation course.

Desirable criteria

• ILS & ALS Experience

Essential criteria

• Significant critical care experience
• Experience as a Band 6 or in a leadership role

Desirable criteria

• Experience as a charge nurse in critical care

Skills and Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Competent in co-ordinating the care of a group of patients requiring a variety of levels of organ support, monitoring, treatment e.g. IPPV, PiCCO, CCO, CVVHalities
• Good interpersonal skills with the ability to manage difficult / stressful situations effectively
• Able to prioritise workload (self and others) and meet deadlines
• Leadership and influencing skills

Special Requirements

Essential criteria

• To work in other areas of the department when required e.g. PACU Able to work flexible shifts, weekends and bank holidays as required