SE

Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade

Job Specification & Terms and Conditions

Job Title and Grade Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade

(Grade Code: 3007)

Campaign NRS02152
Reference
Closing Date Wednesday 06/May/2015 at 12 Noon

Proposed Interview Week Commencing 29/May/2015

Date(s)
Taking up A start date will be indicated at Job Offer stage
appointment
Organisational Area Health Service Executive South

Location of Post Cork University Hospital ,Wilton ,Cork

Cardio thoracic theatre/Cardiac ITU/Cardiac Cath Lab, Cork University Hospital, Wilton,
Cork
Details of Service Provision of all aspects of Adult Clinical Perfusion / CPB and associated duties including
operation of IABP, external pacemaking, blood gas analysis ,coagulation testing
(ACT/TEG),pressure monitoring and other associated duties.
Compulsory participation in on-call service and flexibility in working hours.
Reporting Reports to and responsible to Chief Clinical Perfusion Scientist.
Relationship

Purpose of the Post As an autonomous practitioner, a Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade
offers a comprehensive specialist clinical and technical perfusion service during both
routine and emergency procedures as a vital member of the multi-disciplinary team
during cardiac surgery. The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade
will also participate in the development of department protocols and research.

Key Dimensions

 Provide a comprehensive, specialist perfusion service as a vital member of the

multidisciplinary team.

 Maintain infection control within Clinical Perfusion Science and Research.

 Maintain stock and stock control.

Principal Duties and Clinical Practice

Responsibilities
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
 Take, where appropriate, delegated responsibility for the delivery of a highly
specialist perfusion service, ensuring the service is effective and well
co-ordinated.
 Offer and undertake a range of highly specialised perfusion techniques during
routine and emergency cardiopulmonary bypass.
 Assess the patient’s relevant medical history, pathology and diagnosis and make
appropriate decisions concerning conduct of the procedure.
 Advise clinicians on the suitability of equipment and persuade clinicians on
appropriate course of action.
 Set up, prime and run the cardiopulmonary bypass machine to maintain “life
support” for the period of cardiopulmonary bypass according to broad
occupational and clinical policies as well as recent scientific evidence seeking
advice when necessary.
 Undertake, analyse and interpret arterial/venous blood gases and patient
coagulation status.

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  Administer drugs including colloid / crystalloid fluids, vasoactive drugs,
cardioplegia solution, potassium, anticoagulants, haemostatic drugs, sodium
bicarbonate and osmotic diuretics as clinically indicated.
 Monitor a wide range of highly complex and routinely conflicting clinical
information on a minute-to-minute basis such as the blood oximetry, cardiac
output, systemic vascular resistance, ventilation and anticoagulation whilst
monitoring renal status and blood glucose and take appropriate autonomous
action.
 Manipulate on a second-to-second basis the patient’s cardiovascular system
whilst on cardiopulmonary bypass.
 Determine requirement for, and perform where clinically indicated, haemofiltration
and blood transfusion during cardiopulmonary bypass.
 Set up and manage, where appropriate; antegrade/retrograde cerebral perfusion;
deep hypothermic circulatory arrest; mechanical support devices; extracorporeal
membrane oxygenation; and extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal.
 Ensure quality control, calibration and maintenance of expensive complex
medical equipment in Clinical Perfusion and their safe use in compliance with
Near-Patient Testing Policies.
 Participate in the running of an intra-aortic balloon counter-pulsation service,
ensuring availability of skilled clinical perfusion staff to support less-experienced
staff in surgery, cardiology, and intensive care.
 Participate fully in Clinical Perfusion’s 24hr on-call cover.

Management
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
 Liaise with other members of the surgical, anaesthetic and nursing team.
 Support management of a work programme for all clinical areas.
 Manage and prioritise own caseload/workload independently.
 Responsible for supervision of students, involving judging competence levels and
organising suitable activity.
 Required to complete training record and casebook.
 Discuss and sensitively deal with any highlighted problems that have arisen
during supervision. This may be providing reassurance where necessary or
discussing the problem with a senior member of staff.
 Maintain infection control policies within the department.
 Respect the confidentiality of all matters that may relate to colleagues
employment and other members of staff.
 Advise line managers on issues of service delivery including shortfall and activity

Education & Training

The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:

 Organise and implement education and training programmes including specialist
core lectures for student Clinical Perfusion Scientists and other staff members.

 Responsible for providing a working insight of cardiopulmonary bypass for the

purpose of teaching other members of the Cardiothoracic Directorate including
anaesthetic Registrars and medical students whilst ensuring the safe optimal
delivery of cardiopulmonary bypass and thus patient care.

 Must undertake presentations to a broad range of audiences often of large

numbers to promote understanding of a unique specialty.

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  Encourage and support staff development and training.

 Attend post-graduate courses, seminars and conferences to facilitate continual

professional development.

Research & Development

The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
 Develop specialised techniques and protocols.
 Participate in developing and implementing protocols and procedures within
clinical perfusion.
 Remain responsible for assuming and up-dating knowledge on areas surrounding
policies and ensure that the relevant information is distributed to the appropriate
individuals.
 Regularly evaluate, research and audit perfusion equipment testing as part of
routine work.
 Evaluate and contribute to changes in practice to improve quality of patient care.
 Offer advice in conjunction with lead clinicians for research and development in
the directorate to promote perfusion research within a multidisciplinary team.
 Liaise, co-ordinate and comply with other appropriate authorities and
departments in the development work of research e.g. medical staff, R&D, Ethics
committee, suppliers and both internal and external laboratories.
 Critically review current literature to reflect current thinking of principles and
practices of cardiopulmonary bypass, which ultimately lead to improvement in
patient care.
 Ensure that all duties are carried out in accordance with policies, practices and
procedures of Cork University Hospital.
 Comply with the corporate governance structure in keeping with the principles
and standards set out by Cork University Hospital.

Freedom to Act
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
 Draw on knowledge of a range of theories to inform practice. Assist in developing
strategies for the management and delivery of care to the patient.
 Work as an autonomous practitioner, taking responsibility for organising and
delegating, where appropriate multiple techniques required during a single
procedure e.g. Cardiopulmonary bypass, cell salvage, blood gases and intra-
aortic balloon pumps.
 Take initiative, manage and prioritise own caseload/workload independently.
 Monitor and evaluate own service delivery and that of others in the team.
 Accountable for own professional action and recognise own professional
boundaries through interpretation of clinical / professional policies.
 Work within defined departmental and national protocols/policies and
professional code of conduct.
 Work independently accessing appraisal within an individual performance
framework at pre-determined intervals.
 Provide evidential action on own initiative as clinical circumstances indicate.
 Administer selective cardiovascular and controlled drugs as clinically indicated
and determined.

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Communication
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:

 Communicate in an effective, clear, concise exact manner as a core member of

the Cardiothoracic surgical and anaesthetic teams providing and receiving
complex and contentious information to ensure positive patient outcomes.
 Communicate in a proactive manner. This is particularly important in an
emergency situation.
 Routinely relay sensitive information to members of staff and Lead Perfusionist
etc to ensure appropriate continuation of care of the patient or service.
 Participate in discussions with clinicians within and outside immediate surgical
team in devising an appropriate care pathway for patients. This is particularly
important for patients whose underlying pathology is not conducive to
Cardiopulmonary Bypass.
 Convey information that is frequently highly complex via various media to a broad
range of audiences to promote understanding of a unique specialty.
 Demonstrate good negotiation skills in the management of conflict across a
range of clinical situations.

Knowledge, Training & Experience

The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:

 Maintain re-registration with the College of Clinical Perfusion Scientists of Great

Britain and Ireland gaining the clinical points and academic points necessary
through international and national conferences or other relevant training to
maintain, develop and contribute to knowledge of clinical advances in specialist
areas of expertise.
 Keep up to date with new techniques and developments of new research to
maintain good perfusion practice.
 Maintain a current knowledge base of conditions and disease processes relevant
to the conduct of cardiopulmonary bypass.
 Reflect on practice particularly unique cases. Present information to consolidate
understanding and knowledge from cases.
 Consolidate specialist skills, knowledge and expertise in clinical practice.
Applying these skills to the supervision and training of others within the
department and the multidisciplinary team.
 Maintain a current knowledge base of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics
of relevant cardiovascular drugs employed during and affecting cardiopulmonary
bypass.
 Familiar with and work within the broad guidelines for “best practice” set out by
the Society of Clinical Perfusion Scientists of Great Britain and Ireland.
 Familiar with departmental and Cork University Hospital Blood Transfusion
Policies.
 Identify personal/professional development evidenced in a portfolio through an
appraisal framework including objectives relating to clinical specialty.
 Participate in formal individual performance review and set objectives to meet
personal and professional demands.
 Apply principles of clinical governance to professional practice.

Analytical and Judgement Skills

The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
 Able to use specialist knowledge to inform sound clinical judgements/decision

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 making for complex cases and advise others on the same often in the absence of
a full clinical picture.
 Monitor a wide range of highly complex and routinely conflicting and complex
clinical information on a minute-to-minute basis and take appropriate
autonomous action.
 Discuss and evaluate options for best practice with colleagues as to the
individual case management to optimise patient outcomes.
 Adapt to meet individual patient needs often in highly charged difficult critical
clinical circumstances.
 Demonstrate reflection on practice with peers.

Information Resources
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
 Create own clinical perfusion reports by employing clinical perfusion data
acquisition software and manage own data acquisition database.
 Maintain accurate paper and database records of clinical data.
 These records should be easily accessible by all for the purpose of audit, stock
control, finance, performance management, professional registration and bench
marking purposes.
 Ensure that all information is handled in accordance with Cork University
Hospitals’ policies.

Financial & Physical Resources

The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
 Responsible for careful use of all aspects of perfusion equipment. Ensure that
equipment is in safe working order prior to use. All faults should be reported.
 Responsible for maintaining departmental stock levels and expiration dates when
required.
 Responsible for costing/sourcing suppliers as and when required.

Planning & Organising

The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
 Organise and implement education and training programmes including specialist
core lectures for student Clinical Perfusion Scientists and other staff members.

 Support management of a work programme for all clinical areas.

 Manage and prioritise own caseload/workload independently often combining
multiple and complex duties within deadlines whilst still meeting clinical
obligations.
 Plan and organise ahead for several eventualities whilst maintaining flexibility
should the course of work change.
 Contribute to the development of innovative and specialised techniques.
 Identify and target training requirements, both formal and informal and
appropriate to the needs of the individual and professional colleagues.

Physical Skills
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
 Use highly developed auditory, visual and perceptive skills including precise hand
and eye co-ordination to ensure safe management of cardiopulmonary bypass.

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  Act quickly and think clearly, frequently under acute time pressure to resolve an
emergency situation.
 Accomplished manual dexterity essential for manipulation and construction of
extracorporeal circuit.

Physical Effort

The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:

 Have due regard for personal and others safety with respect to moving and
handling regulations.
 Frequent requirement to move extremely heavy (greater than 250kg) and
cumbersome perfusion equipment between clinical areas including the transfer of
patients on specialist devices.
 Unload, unpack and rearrange heavy perfusion equipment on a regular basis.
 Dismantle and remove cumbersome clinical waste safely from relevant areas and
clean equipment and service areas of contaminated waste.

Mental Effort
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
 Maintain intense levels of concentration in all aspects of patient management for
prolonged periods of time, in particular to monitor and manipulate vital patient
parameters.
 Be flexible to the demands of environment including unpredictable workload,
emergency procedures, deadlines and catastrophic clinical situations.

Emotional Effort
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:

 Maintain calm during emergency and high-pressure situation, being able to

communicate effectively and clearly to all colleagues in the multidisciplinary
team.
 Maintain sensitivity and dignity of patients in all clinical circumstances including
emergency situations and in the event of patient fatality during the procedure.
 Engage and interact with patients (and their relatives) when they are on
mechanical assist devices, often where patient prognosis is poor.
 Develop appropriate strategies for dealing with peri operative and post operative
death.
 Develop appropriate strategies and skills for dealing with stress and stressful
situations.
 Deal with often traumatic and occasionally highly distressing circumstances.

Working Conditions
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:

 Be familiar with procedures for handling and disposal of dangerous materials to

minimise exposure to large amounts of hazardous products.

 Work on a daily basis exposed to patient body fluids and infectious material
whilst managing the single most invasive device used in routine surgery and
patient management.

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Risk Management, Infection Control, Hygiene Services and Health & Safety

The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:

 Have a working knowledge of HIQA Standards as they apply to the role for
example, Standards for Healthcare, National Standards for the Prevention and
Control of Healthcare Associated Infections, Hygiene Standards etc.

 Staff will be provided with the necessary education, training and support to
enable them to meet this responsibility.

 Staff have a duty to familiarise themselves with the relevant Organisational

Policies Procedures & Standards and attend training as appropriate in the
following areas:-

 Continuous Quality Improvement Initiatives

 Document Control Information Management Systems
 Risk Management Strategy and Policies
 Hygiene Related Policies, Procedures and Standards
 Decontamination Code of Practice
 Infection Control Policies
 Safety Statement, Health and Safety Policies and Fire Procedure
 Data Protection and Confidentiality Policies

 You are responsible for ensuring that you become familiar with the requirements
stated within the CUH Risk Management Strategy and that you comply with the
Hospitals Risk Management Incident /Near Miss reporting Policies and
Procedures.

 You are responsible for ensuring that you comply with hygiene services
requirements in your area of responsibility. Hygiene Services incorporates
environment and facilities, hand hygiene, catering, cleaning, the management of
laundry, waste, sharps and equipment

 You must foster and support a quality improvement culture through-out your area
of responsibility in relation to hygiene services.

 Your specific responsibility for Quality & Risk Management, Hygiene Services,
and Health & Safety will be clarified to you in the induction process and by your
line manager.

 Each employee must take reasonable care for his or her own actions and the
effect they may have upon the safety of others.

 Employees must cooperate with management, attend Health & Safety related
training, and not undertake any task for which they have not been authorised and
adequately trained.

 Every employee is required to bring to the attention of a responsible person any

perceived shortcoming in our safety arrangements or any defects in work
equipment.
 It is the responsibility of each employee to be aware of and comply with the HSE
Health Care Records Management/Integrated Discharge Planning (HCRM/IDP)
Code of Practice.

 To support, promote and actively participate in sustainable energy, water and

waste initiatives to create a more sustainable, low carbon and efficient health
service.

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 Candidates must, on the latest date for receiving completed application forms for this post
Eligibility Criteria possess:

Qualifications and a) (i) Be accredited by the College of Clinical Perfusion of Great Britain and
experience Ireland
or

(ii) possess an equivalent qualification

and

(iii) be registered with the College of Clinical Perfusionists of Great Britain

and Ireland as a practising Clinical Perfusionist

b) Have the clinical and administrative capacity to properly discharge the functions
of the role

Age
Age restriction shall only apply to a candidate where s/he is not classified as a new entrant
(within the meaning of the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act,
2004). A candidate who is not classified as a new entrant must be under 65 years of age
on the first day of the month in which the latest date for receiving completed application
forms for the office occurs.

Health
Candidates for and any person holding the office must be fully competent and capable of
undertaking the duties attached to the office and be in a state of health such as would
indicate a reasonable prospect of ability to render regular and efficient service.

Character
Candidates for and any person holding the office must be of good character.

Post Specific n/a

Requirements
Other requirements  Participate in departmental on-call rota.
specific to the post
 Be flexible in covering additional hours often at un-social hours

 Must provide a very flexible working approach to accommodate the rapidly

changing nature of surgical environment especially in a small department.

 Access to transport
Skills, competencies  Demonstrate evidence of post-graduate knowledge of routine and specialised
and knowledge clinical techniques e.g. Ventricular Assist Devices, Vacuum Assisted Drainage,
Blood Conservation, including Intra-Aortic Balloon Counterpulsation,
extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation
 Demonstrate evidence of Policy and/or Protocol development and/or contribution.
 Demonstrate a basic understanding of statistics.
 Demonstrate an understanding of the capabilities and limitations of clinical
equipment used
 Demonstrate knowledge of clinical hazards & emergency procedures.
 Demonstrate evidence of competency in IT skills, including Microsoft Word, Excel,
Power Point and Access as well as hospital and perfusion databases.
 Demonstrate the ability to plan and organise effectively
 Demonstrate leadership and team management skills, including the ability to work
as part of a multi-disciplinary team
 Demonstrate evidence of being accountable for own professional action.

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  Demonstrate strong interpersonal skills including the ability to build and maintain
relationships
 Demonstrate sufficient communication skills to effectively carry out the duties and
responsibilities of the role

 Demonstrate experience of applying evidence based practice

 Demonstrate sufficient clinical knowledge to carry out the duties and
responsibilities of the role
 Demonstrate an ability to apply knowledge to best practice
 Demonstrate the ability to plan and deliver care in an effective and resourceful
manner within a model of person-centred care
 Demonstrate the ability to manage self in a busy working environment
 Demonstrate the ability to evaluate information and make effective decisions
especially with regard to service user care
 Display effective communication and interpersonal skills including the ability to
collaborate with colleagues, families, schools etc.
 Display awareness and appreciation of the service user and the ability to
empathise with and treat others with dignity and respect
 Demonstrate effective team skills
 Demonstrate flexibility and openness to change
 Demonstrate ability to utilise supervision effectively
 Demonstrate a willingness to develop IT skills relevant to the role
 Demonstrate commitment to continuing professional development

Campaign Specific A ranking and or shortlisting exercise may be carried out on the basis of information
Selection Process supplied in your application form. The criteria for ranking and or shortlisting are based on
the requirements of the post as outlined in the eligibility criteria and skills, competencies
Ranking / and/or knowledge section of this job specification. Therefore it is very important that you
Shortlisting / think about your experience in light of those requirements.
Interview
Failure to include information regarding these requirements may result in you not being
called forward to the next stage of the selection process.

Those successful at the ranking stage of this process (where applied) will be placed on an
order of merit and will be called to interview in ‘bands’ depending on the service needs of
the organisation.

Code of Practice The Health Service Executive will run this campaign in compliance with the Code of
Practice prepared by the Commission for Public Service Appointments (CPSA). The Code
of Practice sets out how the core principles of probity, merit, equity and fairness might be
applied on a principle basis. The Code also specifies the responsibilities placed on
candidates, facilities for feedback to applicants on matters relating to their application
when requested, and outlines procedures in relation to requests for a review of the
recruitment and selection process and review in relation to allegations of a breach of the
Code of Practice. Additional information on the HSE’s review process is available in the
document posted with each vacancy entitled “Code of Practice, information for
candidates”.

Codes of practice are published by the CPSA and are available on

www.hse.ie/eng/staff/jobs in the document posted with each vacancy entitled “Code of
Practice, information for candidates” or on www.cpsa.ie.

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 Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade
Terms and Conditions of Employment

Tenure The initial vacancy for this post is permanent whole-time. This post is pensionable. A
panel will be formed from this recruitment campaign and future permanent or specified
purpose vacancies of full-time or part-time working hours will be filled from this panel. The
tenure of these posts will be indicated at “expression of interest” stage.

Appointment as an employee of the Health Service Executive is governed by the Health

Act 2004 and the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointment) Act 2004.

Remuneration The Salary scale (as at 01/01/10) for the post is:

Euro 47,979 – 50,189 – 52,150 – 54,156 – 56,222 – 58,253 – 60,344 – 62,414 –

64,500

Working Week The standard working week applying to the post is: 37 hours

HSE Circular 003-2009 “Matching Working Patterns to Service Needs (Extended

Working Day / Week Arrangements); Framework for Implementation of Clause 30.4 of
Towards 2016” applies. Under the terms of this circular, all new entrants and staff
appointed to promotional posts from Dec 16th 2008 will be required to work agreed
roster / on call arrangements as advised by their line manager. Contracted hours of
work are liable to change between the hours of 8am-8pm over seven days to meet the
requirements for extended day services in accordance with the terms of the Framework
Agreement (Implementation of Clause 30.4 of Towards 2016).

The annual leave associated with the post is to be confirmed at Job Offer Stage
Annual Leave
Superannuation This is a pensionable position with the HSE. The successful candidate will upon
appointment become a member of the appropriate pension scheme. Pension scheme
membership will be notified within the contract of employment. Members of pre-
existing pension schemes who transferred to the HSE on the 01st January 2005
pursuant to Section 60 of the Health Act 2004 are entitled to superannuation benefit
terms under the HSE Scheme which are no less favourable to those which they were
entitled to at 31st December 2004
Every permanent appointment of a person who is not already a permanent officer of the
Probation Health Service Executive or of a Local Authority shall be subject to a
probationary period of 12 months as stipulated in the Department of Health
Circular No.10/71.

Protection of This post is one of those designated in accordance with Section 2 of the Protection of
Persons Reporting Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act, 1998. You will remain a designated
Child Abuse Act officer for the duration of your appointment in this post or for the duration of
19981 your appointment to such other post as is included in the categories
specified in the Ministerial Direction. Such officers will, on receiving a report
of child abuse, formally notify the Senior Social Worker in the community
care area in which the child is living.

Infection Control Have a working knowledge of Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) Standards
as they apply to the role for example, Standards for Healthcare, National
Standards for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated
Infections, Hygiene Standards etc

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