Asthma Paediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist

Respiratory Asthma Clinical Nurse Specialist

Band 6

Full Time 37.5 hours 6 Month Winter Secondment Commencing October 2024

We are pleased to be able to offer this exciting opportunity to join the Asthma Clinical Nurse Specialist Team. We are looking for an efficient, well-motivated and enthusiastic nurse to join our team. The CNS will provide specialist nursing advice and support to patients with asthma (in-patient and out-patient) and their family, throughout the care pathway, ensuring a seamless service for these patients. 

We are a dynamic team delivering secondary and tertiary respiratory care in the region. The successful candidates will be RSCN or RN Child Branch; relevant clinical experience in paediatric respiratory nursing is essential along with excellent verbal and written communication skills.

The post offers an excellent career development opportunity for an individual committed to children’s nursing. A car driver/owner is desirable, as we have a number of clinics based throughout Bristol.  

Main duties of the job

• The CNS will deliver inhaler teaching, patient and family education and will provide Personalised Asthma Action Plans for all children with asthma.
• The CNS will be involved with children with asthma on the medical wards or within the ED to provide management advice, inhaler technique and asthma education to families and staff.
• The CNS will also be involved in the administration of injectable monoclonal antibody therapies for difficult asthma.
• The CNS will actively be involved in education, research and audit. There will be the opportunity to undertake a specific educational module in paediatric asthma management. 
• The post holder will engage and lead discussions in multidisciplinary team meeting

Working for our organisation

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) is one of the largest acute Trusts in the country, bringing together a combined workforce of over 13,000 staff and over 100 different clinical services across 10 different sites, serving a core population of more than 500,000 people across South West England. UHBW has been rated by the CQC as ‘Good’ overall and our staff are proud to deliver excellent care to the people of Bristol, Weston and beyond. As a forward-thinking multi-award winning Trust and a digital exemplar committed to improving patient care, our world-leading research and innovations are having a positive local and global impact. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone’s throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that the South West has to offer. UHBW is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application in order to ensure we’re meeting our pledge.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For a more detailed job description, main responsibilities, and person specification, please refer to the job description document attached to this vacancy.

Person specification

Qualification & Training

Essential criteria

• RN(Child) or relevant children’s qualification
• Current NMC Registration
• 1st Degree in nursing or health related subject, willing to undertake/ working towards
• Qualification in Teaching and Assessing

Desirable criteria

• Qualification / Short course in Asthma management

Knowledge & Experience

Essential criteria

• Appropriate post registration experience in paediatric asthma nursing
• Proven commitment and experience, evidence in teaching

Desirable criteria

• Appropriate proven leadership and management experience
• Experience of undertaking research or audit
• Evidence of commitment to research based practice or evidence of project work undertaken
• Experience as preceptor / mentor

Skills & Abilities

Essential criteria

• Organisation and management skills
• Teaching
• Ability to work effectively under pressure
• Ability to problem solve
• Flexibility, adaptability to meet needs of a changing service
• Ability to work alone or as part of a team.
• Ability to cope with emotional issues presented in the course of work and to support others.
• IT skills including use of email and Microsoft office packages
• Act as a role model and as a mentor
• Innovative and participates with practice and policy change
• Awareness of professional responsibilities to self and others
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills

Desirable criteria

• Knowledge of national and local specialty specific issues