Description:
Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) is an exciting and dynamic place to work. The team at the Hospital are in the midst of implementing a new hospital strategy that has already delivered on the opening of a new renal unit, day surgery centre, step down facility in the community and a new ICU extension. It is an exciting time to join the TUH team and one of Ireland’s main teaching hospitals with so many plans to enhance patient care. The Hospital believes in investing in their team and offers excellent education and research opportunities.
TUH is one of Ireland’s largest acute teaching hospitals, adult, psychiatric and age-related healthcare on one site. The Hospital has 495 adult beds with over 3,500 people on staff with over 50 different nationalities represented. The Hospital is a provider of local, regional, and national specialties. It is also a national urology centre, the second largest provider of dialysis services in the country, a regional orthopeadic trauma centre and a designated trauma unit.
TUH is one of the two main academic teaching hospitals of Trinity College Dublin - specialising in the training and professional development of staff in areas such as medicine nursing, health and social care professionals, emergency medicine and surgery, amongst many others. TUH is part of the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group which serves a population of over 1.2 million across seven counties.
The vision of the Hospital is “ People Caring for People to Live Better Lives” through excellent health outcomes supported by evidenced based practice, positive patient and staff experience in an empowering and caring environment. A culture of innovation and quality improvement in everything we do.
Our TUH CARE values – for patients, their families, our community and staff are:
- Collaborate – together and with our academic and care partners
- Achieve – our goals, positive outcomes and wellbeing
- Respect – for patients, each other and our environment
- Equity – for patients and staff
At TUH we view our staff as our most asset and every member of the Team is valued equally. We recognise that a skilled, satisfied and motivated workforce is a prerequisite to high quality care.The Institute of Memory and Cognition in TUH comprises the National Intellectual Disability Clinic, The Regional Specialist Memory Service, the Motor-cognitive Disorders Neurology Clinic, and the Cognitive Clinical Trials Unit.
Working closely with multidisciplinary colleagues the Principal Specialist Psychologist/Neuropsychologist will support the provision of an expert, innovative and evidence based Psychology and Neuropsychology service to the National Intellectual Disability Memory Service and the Regional Specialist Memory Service based in TUH.
- Develop and deliver the neuropsychology service to patients at the Institute of Memory and Cognition ensuring best practice and maximum benefit from services
- This will include, but is not limited to, holding and managing a clinical caseload, attending relevant clinical team meetings and working with relevant clinical teams to deliver the highest quality of care and appropriate service development duties
- Plan and deliver patient centred services to complex patient caseloads commensurate with a specialist in the field of memory, which will include evidenced based high quality assessments and intervention with patients, families and other agencies as appropriate.
- Choose, administer, score, and interpret neuropsychological tests appropriately for a variety of purposes including, but not limited to: contribution to the diagnostic process, tracking change in the cognitive, emotional and social functioning of patients over time, to provide input into the patient’s self-management of their condition, to provide support for the development of rehabilitation plans
- To provide therapeutic intervention as appropriate
- To attend multi-disciplinary meetings, case-conferences and consensus meetings
- To work collaboratively with members of the multi-disciplinary team and to ensure appropriate access to psychological services. This may entail developing or contributing to clinical pathway development
- Effectively manage waitlists where appropriate in line with departmental policy
- Manage clinical risk within the service remit
- Demonstrate leadership and direction to engage and lead in service planning activities to ensure efficient management of the designated service and to enable this service to respond positively to any changes affecting TUH. This will include audit and evaluation of Psychology input to the Memory Service and National Intellectual Disability
- Liaise with community and external services, statutory and voluntary agencies as appropriate, and further develop and consolidate collaborative working practices to ensure an integrated pattern of service delivery
- Develop and maintain specific input into the education of other health professionals and to take part in post-graduate education, relevant to Psychology and Neuropsychology
- Oversee student training/placements which the hospital might undertake in conjunction with recognized training bodies
- Undertake and be involved in programmes of research and development as appropriate to the service
- Support psychology manager to create systems for reviewing the individual training needs and continuing training programmes and other in-service training and education required by psychologists
- Ensure the necessary liaison and co-operation with Medical, Nursing, HSCP and other disciplines in the Hospital
- Develop and maintain a comprehensive information system for the psychology service and to furnish psychology manager with statistical data and reports as may be required
- Prepare for and attend any appropriate meetings within the Psychology Department
- Participate in continuing professional development to ensure compliance with statutory regulations
- Be an active participant in the formulation of hospital policy, as appropriate
- Ensure that effective safety and risk management procedures are in place and that they are known and followed by all members of the department
- Be actively involved in the management of change and participate in quality initiatives, e.g. accreditation
- Devise, implement and monitor clinical operational policies and procedures, clinical guidelines and other resources and educational tools
- Disseminate and comply with hospital policies, procedures, protocols and guidelines
- Deputize for the Psychology Manager/Head of Department as required
- Recognised honours degree in psychology
- Recognised postgraduate qualification in clinical or counselling psychology
- Possess the requisite knowledge and ability (to include a high standard of suitability and clinical skills and ability) for proper discharge of the duties of the post
- Significant experience providing psychological assessment and intervention to a broad range of care groups
- Appropriate knowledge base relevant to memory clinic setting and working with older persons and persons with intellectual and neurodevelopmental disabilities
- Have recent evidence of continuing professional development relevant to memory and older persons in the form of either post graduate qualifications or relevant courses
- Candidates who have completed their postgraduate training outside of Ireland must ensure that their qualification is validated by the Department of Health and Children
- Desirable:
- Be eligible for specialist chartered registration with the Division of Neuropsychology, Psychological Society of Ireland
- Post graduate qualification in the area of applied Neuropsychology
- Demonstrable skill in Neuropsychological assessment
- Demonstrated competence in planning, development, delivery of quality psychological services and evaluation of quality psychological services
- Relevant publications in the specialty area and dissemination of same
- Experience of formal supervision of trainee/ staff grade psychologists/ senior psychologists
- Leadership and /or management ability
- Demonstrated ability to conduct research in a health care setting