Job summary
Are you an experienced, compassionate and motivated nurse with a passion for cancer care? We have an exciting opportunity for a Macmillan Skin Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist to join our Dermatology and Cancer Services team. This is a rewarding and influential role for a nurse who wants to make a real difference to people affected by skin cancer. The post holder will work as a core member of the skin cancer multidisciplinary team, providing expert advice, personalised care and emotional support to patients and their families from the point of suspected diagnosis and throughout their cancer pathway.

Main duties of the job
The post holder will work as a Macmillan Skin Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist and will be a core member of the skin cancer multidisciplinary team. They will provide expert, patient-centred nursing care, advice and support to people affected by skin cancer, from the point of suspicion of cancer and throughout their pathway.

About us
Please submit your application as soon as possible, as we reserve the right to close adverts once sufficient applications have been received.

We recognise that AI tools can support application writing; however, candidates are asked to keep their use to a minimum. Responses should reflect your own experience, skills and knowledge, as over-reliance on AI-generated content may result in generic answers that do not accurately represent your abilities.

University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN) brings together Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust. As a group, we are committed to improving services for our communities through collaboration, modernising care delivery and striving for excellence. Working together enables us to share expertise, strengthen services and create greater opportunities, and there may be a requirement to work across sites depending on service needs.

Our Excellence Values are Compassion, Accountability, Respect, Integrity and Courage. UHN welcomes applications from all backgrounds and is committed to an inclusive working environment. We are proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and hold the Gold Award under the Employer Recognition Scheme. Candidates who identify as members of the Armed Forces community and meet the essential criteria will be guaranteed an interview.

Job responsibilities
Supporting Patient Excellence

• Ensure everyone diagnosed with a Skin cancer receives a supported conversation about their needs, repeated as their needs change. To include Melanoma and High-Risk SCC patients
• To undertake a comprehensive holistic assessment of patients needs (HNA) at key stages during the illness experience from the point of suspicion of cancer in line with National Directives using a recognised tool that can electronically record the patients/carers expressed needs.
• To develop a comprehensive care and support plan in consultation with the patient/family, ensuring a written copy is shared with the patient.
• To enable patients/carers to navigate to supportive services through referrals and/or sign posting to meet their individual range of needs.
• To attend weekly multidisciplinary team meetings and contribute to the discussion and patient assessment/care planning decisions. This is to include specialist meetings where the CNS represents the patient.
• To identify patients to be added to multidisciplinary meetings and complete proformas to add patients to specialist meetings, inform the consultants of the outcomes of these meetings.
• To act on scan findings and escalate findings to consultants.
• To run diagnosis clinics for new melanoma patients.
• To support skin cancer patients during significant consultations in Head and Neck, Plastics, and radiotherapy department .
• To implement remote monitoring for patients diagnosed with SCC and melanoma in line with national directives and the ongoing development of risk management stratified follow-up
• To be deemed competent to undertake a clinical assessment of patients on remote monitoring, identifying any signs of recurrence and escalating to the name clinician.
• To screen patients for psychological distress using a recognised tool
• To provide Level 2 psychological support for patients and their careers, referring those with complex needs to the Macmillan Clinical Psychologist.
• To develop and implement nurse led clinics to support the patient pathway.
• Where appropriate interpret and present clinical information to patients and their relatives, demonstrating highest levels of interpersonal and communication skills ensure that patients and their carers, have sufficient relevant verbal and written information during the patients stay
• To lead on communication issues and co-ordinate the patients pathway acting as the Key Worker or responsible for nominating the Key Worker for the patient depending on their individual needs.
• Offer specialist emotional, psychological and practical support to the patients and family, referring patients psychological advice. To include support to patients with complex physical and psychological related problems. This sentence doesnt make sense. Regarding psychological support you have already said they act as level 2 practitioner, referring complex issues to Consultant Clinical psychologist
• To ensure that all communication, (which may be complex, contentious or sensitive) is undertaken in a responsive and inclusive manner, focussing on improvements and ways to move forward.
• Ensuring all communication is presented appropriately to the different recipients, according to levels of understanding, type of communication being imparted and possible barriers such as language, culture, understanding or physical or mental conditions.
• To identify and meet patient/carers informational needs utilising the Macmillan Information & Support Service
• To ensure patients receive verbal and written information at the appropriate point in their illness experience in line with the national information pathway for skin cancer.
• Supports the development of patient focussed education, including training to self-manage ongoing consequences of treatment.
• To identify and address the palliative care needs of patients and their families, referring patients with complex needs to the Specialist Palliative Care Team
• To identify AMBER patients working with the multidisciplinary team to agree ceiling of intervention.
• To identify the patients Preferred Place of Care at the appropriate point in the illness experience, ensuing patients and able to die in a place of their choice where possible.
• To respond to EAU alerts for patients diagnosed with Skin cancer co-ordinating their pathway from the point of admission.
• To lead the development of Health & Wellbeing events for patients living with Skin cancers, ensuring they are tailored to meet their individual needs.
• To support patients in the development of an Advance Care Plan, identifying their preferences and wishes
• To initiate proactive telephone support for patients in the palliative stage of their disease
• To promote a culture that supports and enables self-management.
• Utilise patient/carer experience feedback to drive innovation and change.
• To implement exit interviews for patients at the end of treatment, ensuring their survivorship needs are identified and addressed.

Person Specification
Education, training and Qualifications
Essential

• RN Level 1
• First Level Degree in cancer/palliative care or equivalent level of education or training
• Fundamentals of cancer care module post graduate level or equivalent
• Advanced communication skills training or equivalent level of education or training
• Level 2 Psychological Support Training or willingness to undertake
• A recognised leadership qualification or equivalent
• Education, Training & Qualifications Educated to Masters level or equivalent level of education, training or experience

Desirable

• Registered independent nurse prescriber
• Evidence of IRMER training

Knowledge & Experience
Essential

• In-depth knowledge and experience of supporting the clinical management of patients living with Skin cancers, including those on remote monitoring
• Experience of working with a range of health care professionals across primary and secondary care
• In-depth knowledge of the national frameworks related to cancer
• In-depth knowledge and experience in implementing the personalised care and support agenda
• Previous experience of working as a Clinical Nurse Specialist
• Palliative care experience
• Leadership & Management
• Experience of leading research/audit
• Understanding of Macmillan Cancer Support and its role across the UK

Skills
Essential

• Excellent communication skills
• Effective negotiation and interpersonal skills
• Analytical and IT skills
• Ability to develop policies, protocols & guidelines
• Planning and organisational skills
• Ability to work autonomously & as part of a team
• Assessment skills
• Ability to plan own workload & manage own time effectively
• Ability to exercise initiative & implement change
• Problem solving skills
• Physical effort - work across the Trust supporting patients living with Skin cancers. May need to attend meetings outside the Trust
• Mental effort - high degree of concentration and working with patients in the palliative stage of their disease on a regular basis

Key Competencies/ Personal Qualities & Attributes
Essential

• Passionate and committed to bring our Dedicated to Excellence values to life, improving the way we work with each other, particularly focusing on empowerment, equality diversity and inclusion of our staff, patients and service users
• Diplomatic, calm & objective
• Assertive and confident, yet approachable
• Innovative, flexible, enthusiastic & motivated

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).