Job summary
- Main area
- Cardiology
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8a
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Flexible over 7 days)
- Job ref
- 190-0402-DIR
- Employer
- Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Sheffield Teaching Hospitals
- Town
- Sheffield
- Salary
- £53,755 - £60,504 pa pro rata for part time staff
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 15/06/2025 23:59
- Interview date
- 27/06/2025
Employer heading
Practice Educator (Echocardiography)
NHS AfC: Band 8a
We are committed to helping our staff balance their work and home lives and ensure they feel supported, valued and appreciated so whilst you care for our patients and clients, we’ll take care of you. We offer many different ways of helping staff including career development opportunities, flexible working, good annual leave and pension schemes , health and wellbeing packages and financial support systems. Joining the Trust also allows you access to a number of saving options via our salary sacrifice schemes and a wide range of discount opportunities with retailers and service providers.
Job overview
We are looking to recruit an experienced Cardiac Physiologist/ Healthcare Scientist to work in Echocardiography as part of our Diagnostic Cardiology team.
We have an ambitious plan and are looking for an aspirational, committed individual to join us, making a real difference to both staff and patients. This new role is to develop, deliver and monitor our comprehensive and expanding training program including Scientist Training Programme (STP), Echocardiography Training Programme (ETP) and Medical trainees.
We are looking for an individual who is enthusiastic, has a passion for teaching and will empower colleagues to achieve their learning goals. The post holder will work under the guidance of the Echo leads and have expertise and enthusiasm for education and training and provide senior leadership in the Echo department.
The post holder will also undertake routine and complex diagnostic transthoracic echocardiography and cardiac ultrasound investigations and interpret results to provide an accurate clinical report that can be clearly understood by a physician not experienced in echocardiography and adheres to local and national guidelines.
Main duties of the job
To provide leadership, training and education in the clinical areas, enabling staff to develop the clinical skills and competencies required delivering a high-quality diagnostic echo service.
To work alongside other senior members of the team to deliver a highly intensive in-house Echo training programme. In addition to this, there will also be the opportunity to support development of a regional Echo Training website.
To liaise effectively with the Lead Echocardiographer to ensure that departmental and BSE guidelines are maintained and up to date with current clinical and technical practice.
To undertake routine and complex diagnostic transthoracic echocardiography and cardiac ultrasound investigations and interpret results to provide an accurate clinical report that can be clearly understood by a physician not experienced in echocardiography and adheres to local and national guidelines.
Interested applicants should possess BSc in Clinical Physiology, MSc Clinical Science (Cardiac, Vascular, Respiratory and Sleep Sciences) or BTEC / HNC in Medical Physics and Physiological Measurements and holds RCCP / AHCS / HCPC registration. Post graduate qualification in education and / or current BSE assessor would be an advantage.
Working for our organisation
You will be working for an organisation which values and respects all of its staff and the community it serves. The Trust is a leader in the NHS and research sectors and provides excellent benefits for its staff. This includes commitments to professional development but also many policies to support employees in balancing their personal and professional lives.
As a tertiary centre, Sheffield Teaching Hospital delivers several regional services. Sheffield is one of Europe’s largest Pulmonary Hypertension centres. Research and innovation are key to advances in medicine, Sheffield Teaching Hospital is internationally recognised for several of its specialist services and research.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please view the attached Job Description and Person Specification documents for full details regarding this post.
When completing your application please ensure that you clearly demonstrate how you meet the role criteria.
The Diagnostic Cardiology Unit provides an extensive range of non-invasive, invasive and specialist cardiac investigation to the South Yorkshire region. The investigation provided by the department include
· 12 Lead ECG
· Ambulatory ECG Monitoring
· Ambulatory Blood Pressure
· Tilt Table Testing
· Signal Average ECG
· Exercise Tolerance Testing
· Simplex and complex cardiac device follow up including CRT optimisation clinics
· Physiologist led ILR implantation
· Trans-thoracic Echocardiography including 3 Dimensional assessment, Valve assessment, Stress and Congenital heart disease.
· Tran-oesophageal Echocardiography including 3 Dimensional assessment
· Cardiac catheter Laboratory support for:-
o Left and Right Heart Catheterisation including PCI / PPCI, FFR, IVUS, PVR, IABP
o Simplex and Complex device implantation
o Cardiac Device Extraction
o Simple and Complex electrophysiology procedures including SVT, AT, VT, 3D Mapping
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- BSc in Clinical Physiology, MSc Clinical Science (Cardiac, Vascular, Respiratory and Sleep Sciences) or equivalent
- SCST parts I & II (if applicable to qualification route)
- Full BSE Level 2 Adult Transthoracic Accreditation with > 3 years’ experience in expert independent scanning and reporting.
- Professional registration on the Academy of Healthcare Science (AHCS) or equivalent.
- Immediate Life Support or equivalent
Desirable criteria
- Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as a clinical scientist.
- Teaching / Train the Trainer qualification.
- Registered Onefile user.
Experience
Essential criteria
- Expert understanding of all aspects of Echocardiography services.
- Experience as a highly specialist cardiac physiologist/cardiac scientist, competently performing a wide range of echocardiographic studies; accurately interpretating and reporting results in a range of clinical settings.
- Understanding of National programs and initiatives supporting development of future physiologist workforce
- Experience and detailed knowledge of managing teaching and learning across multiple different platforms
- Evidence of leadership skills required for this level of responsibility.
- Skills in delivering constructive feedback & reflection.
- Experience of training/mentoring trainees to BSE Accreditation and beyond with CPD activities.
- Excellent organisational skills
- An understanding of the echocardiography workforce needs within Cardiac science and how they can be met through training
- Provide line management for a team of B7 physiologists/scientists
- Extensive experience of working in the NHS
Desirable criteria
- Practical experience and knowledge of other areas of Cardiac Physiology
- Detailed knowledge of learning platforms such as Onefile.
- Experience of operationally managing clinical services and rotas.
Values
Essential criteria
- Values and respects others, treats everyone as an individual, is non-judgemental
- Motivated to be genuinely kind and caring
- Helps and co-operates with colleagues
- Pro-active and takes responsibility
- Willing to learn, open to change
- Motivated to make a difference in whatever way they can
Specific skills/aptitudes
Essential criteria
- Generate, manage and review training plans for students.
- Able to analyse and interpret highly complex investigation results where expert opinions differ.
- Ability to assimilate highly complex facts or situations, requiring analysis, interpretation, comparison of options.
- Able to utilise research in clinical practice, applying a current evidence-based approach to decision making & diagnosis
- Work autonomously, set criteria when no protocols to follow. Good communication skills, both. written and verbal.
- Able to organise own tasks and activities including complex and routine procedures which may need adjustment daily.
- Good interpretation and analytical skills for analysis and comparison of results in a broad range of tests
- Able to implement policies and parameters and propose practice change through meetings and discussions
- Good skills in the use of spreadsheets, manipulation of data, Office packages
- Undertake regular triage/management of outpatient and inpatient referrals.
- Experience of supervising and managing junior team members
- Able to prioritise clinical, technical and management duties, making daily changes while performing own clinical load.
- Able to build effective working relationships with team and others.
- Able to work under pressure
- Able to pay attention to detail and demonstrate a positive approach at all times.
- A commitment to promoting equality and diversity in the workplace and in service delivery and development
- Enthusiasm and ability to seek out and resolve problems in order to improve patient care including an appetite to challenge the status quo.
- Ability to cope with working in a changing and uncertain environment.
Desirable criteria
- Ability to continuously develop research outcomes with audits/clinical trials/research to best practise
Physical and emotional effort
Essential criteria
- Able to perform complex procedures requiring highly developed physical/motor skills to obtain accurate results with a high degree of precision.
- Manual handling of patients and equipment, eg ultrasound machine (pushing over 120kg) with speed and accuracy.
- Long periods of concentration needed daily in unpredictable fashion
- Able to perform physical skills with speed and accuracy, particularly hand to eye coordination
- Able to cope with conflict with staff and patients
Working Environment
Essential criteria
- Close contact with infectious patients (rare), contact with bodily fluids, vomit and poor hygiene (frequent).
- Capable of working in darkened environment for extended periods (daily).
- Able to work in high pressure environments such as intensive care (weekly).
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Claire Stevens
- Job title
- Lead in Echocardiography
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 0114 2266753
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