Physiotherapist Advanced Practitioner - Neonatal Intensive Care

Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand; Christchurch; On-site; NZD 118,000 - 144,000; Part time

Job summary

Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand's Christchurch Hospital invites an experienced Physiotherapist to join the NICU as Advanced Practitioner. You will provide expert neonatal assessment, intervention and leadership to optimise neurodevelopmental outcomes for premature and medically complex infants.

Based in Christchurch Women's Hospital, this part-time role offers a designated leadership position within a multidisciplinary team and opportunities for service development, education, and research to

Qualifications

• Registration with the Physiotherapy Board of NZ and an Annual Practising Certificate.
• Extensive post-registration experience in neonatal physiotherapy and developmental care.
• Demonstrated leadership in service development, education, research or governance.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert physiotherapy assessment and management for neonates with complex needs.
• Lead developmental care practices within NICU with guidance on positioning and environmental modification.
• Develop individualised developmental care plans with families and multidisciplinary teams.
• Drive research, audits and quality improvement to inform practice.
• Lead clinical pathways, standards and models of care for neonatal physiotherapy.

Skills

Neonatal physiotherapy

Clinical leadership

Advanced clinical practice

Research & quality improvement

Education

NZ Registration + APC

Job description

Physiotherapist Advanced Practitioner - Neonatal Intensive Care

• Christchurch Hospital, Parttime 32 hours a fortnight (0.4 FTE) permanent role
• Designated role 'Salary starting at $130,913
• Join a specialist neonatal multidisciplinaryteam providing expert physiotherapy assessment, intervention, and leadershipfor neonates and their whānau within Canterbury's tertiary Neonatal IntensiveCare Unit.

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is firmly grounded in theprinciples of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is committed to building a health systemthat serves all New Zealanders.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Physiotherapist to provideadvanced clinical leadership within the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) atChristchurch Women's Hospital.

This Advanced Practitioner role focuses on optimisingneurodevelopmental outcomes for premature and medically complex infants throughexpert assessment, intervention, consultation and leadership. Working within ahighly specialised multidisciplinary team, you will provide clinical leadershipfor developmental care practice across the NICU, influencing care deliverythrough advanced clinical expertise, education, quality improvement and serviceinnovation.

The role combines expert clinical practice with leadershipresponsibilities across service development, workforce development, clinicalgovernance, research and quality improvement. As a recognised clinical expert,you will work collaboratively across organisational and professional boundariesto advance neonatal physiotherapy practice and developmental care services,ensuring equitable outcomes for infants and whānau.

KeyResponsibilities

• Provide expert physiotherapy assessment andmanagement of neonates with complex neurodevelopmental needs. Delivering expertassessment of movement quality, neurobehaviour and developmental progression.
• Lead physiotherapy contributions todevelopmental care within NICU by Providing expert guidance regardingpositioning, handling, sensory regulation and environmental modification.
• Develop and implement individualiseddevelopmental care plans in partnership with whānau and the multidisciplinaryteam.
• Support family-integrated care approaches thatenhance infant neurodevelopment and parent confidence.
• Identify infants at risk of adversedevelopmental outcomes and facilitiate appropriate referral and follow-uppathways.
• Drive innovation and evidence-informed practicethrough research, audit and quality improvement activities.
• Lead the development, implementation andevaluation of clinical pathways, standards, guidelines and models of carerelated to neonatal physiotherapy and developmental care.
• Contribute to research and the translation ofemerging evidence into clinical practice.
• Establish and maintain effective regional andnational professional networks to support advancement of neonatal physiotherapypractice.

About the Team

This role ispart of the Christchurch Hospital Physiotherapy Service and is based within theNeonatal Intensive Care Unit at Christchurch Women's Hospital, the tertiaryneonatal service for Te Waipounamu. The Advanced Practitioner works within ahighly specialised multidisciplinary team providing care to premature andmedically complex infants requiring intensive and specialist neonatal care.

This role sits within the Musculoskeletal & Paediatric cluster,part of the wider physio service. This cluster is a skilled and collaborativeteam that prides itself on high'quality, evidence'based care and a culture ofmutual support delivering effective physiotherapy across diverse clinicalsettings.

Why You'll LoveThis Role:

• Opportunity to practice at an advanced levelwithin a tertiary neonatal service.
• Work alongside nationally recognised neonataland paediatric specialists.
• Influence service development and qualityimprovement initiatives.
• Contribute to improving outcomes for some of ourmost vulnerable patients and their whānau.
• A friendly and collaborative workplace with astrong commitment to clinical excellence
• Live in a region offering an amazing lifestyle

For more information on living and working in Canterbury click here

About You

You will hold NZ Registration and a current APC as well as be able to demonstrate the following:

• Registration with the Physiotherapy Board of NewZealand and current Annual Practising Certificate.
• Extensive post-registration clinical experience,including significant expertise in neonatal physiotherapy and developmentalcare.
• Recognition as an expert clinician with ademonstrated ability to manage highly complex clinical presentationsautonomously.
• Demonstrated leadership in service development,quality improvement, education, research or clinical governance.
• Ability to influence practice and lead changeacross multidisciplinary teams and organisational boundaries.
• Experience contributing to workforce developmentthrough mentoring, coaching and advanced clinical supervision.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the significanceof and obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, including how to apply Te Tiritiprinciples in a meaningful way in your role

Working at Health New Zealand

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is dedicated to ensuringexcellent healthcare for the people of New Zealand. We embrace a workforce thatis diverse and inclusive so that we are better positioned to understand andservice our community. We welcome applications from our diverse Māori,Pacific, disabled, and rainbow communities.

We will review applications as received and may proceedwith the recruitment process, before the closing date of this advert.

South Island - Canterbury - Christchurch