Specialist Rheumatology Nurse | East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust

East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust; Canterbury; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading hospital trust in England is seeking a dedicated professional to enhance patient care within the Rheumatology specialty. The role involves clinical practice, leadership, and collaboration with multi-disciplinary teams, ensuring the delivery of high-quality patient-centered care. The ideal candidate must possess postgraduate experience and demonstrate strong leadership and communication skills. This position offers the opportunity to contribute significantly to the care of patients while fostering an environment of learning and professional growth.

Qualifications

• Experience working in a multi-disciplinary team in Rheumatology.
• Ability to deliver complex patient pathways.
• Commitment to professional development and NMC guidelines.

Responsibilities

• Provide support to nurses and multi-disciplinary colleagues.
• Deliver patient assessments and evaluations.
• Ensure a patient-focused approach for Rheumatology care.
• Facilitate learning for students and colleagues.

Skills

Patient-centered care

Clinical assessments

Communication skills

Compassionate leadership

Education

Postgraduate experience in Rheumatology

Job description

Overview

The post holder will work and develop further at an enhanced level of practice utilising post graduate experience, knowledge and skills in Rheumatology specialty. They will manage discrete aspects of a patient’s care in collaboration with the multi-disciplinary team, within their scope of practice, aligned to the four pillars of practice and aligned to Trust policy, ‘Enhanced, Advanced and Consultant Level Practice- Nurses, Midwives and Allied Health Professionals (AHPs),’ contributing to nursing/midwifery/AHP practice which improves the quality of care to patients.

We are one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with five hospitals and community clinics serving a local population of around 800,000 people. Our vision is ‘great healthcare from great people’. Everything we do is guided by our values: ‘People feel cared for, safe, respected and confident that we are making a difference’. We have a new way of working at East Kent Hospitals, called ‘We care’. It’s about empowering frontline staff to lead improvements day‑to‑day. We’re looking for compassionate people to be part of our improvement journey for the patients, families and carers we care for every day.

Please note that if you require a Certificate of Sponsorship to work in the UK you must declare this on your application form, even if you currently have a certificate of sponsorship or a work permit for another role and are already working in the country. We are only able to sponsor candidates on a Skilled Worker Visa applying for roles Band 5 and above.

Responsibilities

Clinical Practice

• Provide advice and support to nurses and multi-disciplinary colleagues within Rheumatology specialty.
• Deliver patient centred care including assessment, diagnosis, treatment and evaluation of appropriate clinical interventions within a speciality and generic caseload.
• Utilise appropriate models of care delivery, innovation and clinical effectiveness tools, ensuring data collection of clinical activity to support analysis of clinical and patient outcome measures.
• Support complex patient pathways and liaise with multi-disciplinary colleagues and external agencies to ensure a patient focused approach for the Rheumatology pathway to ensure equitable care.

Leadership

• Provide credible role modelling and compassionate leadership to nurses at all times.
• Work collaboratively to support delivery of nursing ambitions.
• Actively involve others in communications between patients, their families and multi‑disciplinary colleagues, supporting excellent communication at all times.
• Work collaboratively with patient forums and multi‑disciplinary colleagues to support practice and service development, meeting the needs of the local population.
• Be actively involved in monitoring standards of care and act on feedback from patients, their families and carers.

Facilitating Learning

• Work collaboratively within the nursing team and other multi‑disciplinary colleagues within the Rheumatology service to deliver pre and post registration education and training.
• Support an environment for all students and learners that encourages enquiry and provides positive opportunities to develop skills, knowledge and competency at all levels of development.
• Teach and advise patients and their families/carers on managing their condition and support the MDT in patient focused education.
• Provide advice within Rheumatology nursing/practice.
• Participate in the A Equip supervision model aligned to Trust supervision policies utilising restorative practice as a tool for reflective learning and mentoring.
• Maintain personal and professional development, continually developing clinical skills to provide high quality care aligned to Trust policies, NMC guidelines and revalidation requirements.

Additional Information

This advert closes on Friday 14 Nov 2025.