This is an opportunity to join the Sheffield Memory Service which is accredited by the Royal College of Psychiatry via the Memory Services National Accreditation Program (MSNAP) as a Band 4 Assistant Psychologist (1.7 WTEs, 12 month fixed term contract).
Applications are being sought for psychology graduates who have a 2:1 degree (from a course accredited by the British Psychological Society) and can demonstrate passion & experience of working as part of multi-disciplinary teams, working with older people, people with cognitive impairment, administration, scoring & interpretation of cognitive assessments.
The role will expect the successful applicant to work alongside members of the multi-disciplinary team,to support the assessment & diagnosis of dementia in line with national guidance. The role also provides opportunity for supporting clinical governance initiatives and working on a variety of service developments and audits.
The successful applicant would join the Older Adult and Neurological Conditions Psychology service. The OA & NC psychologists are a group of psychologists, assistant psychologists and trainees who work into a range of settings (mental health, dementia, stroke, long term neurological conditions). You would receive weekly supervision as well as informal support and development opportunities.
We anticipate these posts to be very popular & expect to receive a high volume of applications. Therefore, we reserve the right to close applications early.
To be required to work on a frequent basis with older people with cognitive and mental health problems.
To be able to administer, score & interpret cognitive assessments to service users undergoing a dementia diagnostic work-up within a multi-disciplinary team.
To undertake protocol-basedassessments of service users, including the use of self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with service users, family members and others involved in the person's care under the supervision of the Clinical Psychologist.
You will need high levels of organisational and report writing skills. You will need to be flexible and adapt to working with service users with possible cognitive impairment. You will need to demonstrate a high level of communication skills (written & verbal) and be able to work in emotionally distressing situations. Additionally, you must possess the ability to use computers for maintaining electronic patient records, word processing, presentations, databases, spreadsheets and email. It is a varied and interesting job role and you will receive the management, training and supervision you need to enable you to contribute fully to the work of the team and build your experience towards clinical training.
We are passionate about providing the very best care to the people we support, and we're looking for amazing people who share this passion to join us.
What is it that makes our Trust such a special place to work? Well, it's all about the people. Our staff, service users, carers and families all come from such diverse backgrounds and all have expertise and stories to share.
It's important that you feel supported in your role, that the people who you work with are as passionate as you are and that your health and wellbeing is taken care of
If you're interested in developing your career, you'll have access to a range of training and education opportunities, including apprenticeships, work experience and placements, as well as the chance to get involved in research.
We are all very proud of the difference we make to people's lives each and every day and if that's something that you'd like to be part of we'd love to have you with us.
Clinical
To work as part of the wider SMS team conducting initial assessments, including cognitive screening, standardized questionnaires, history taking and risk assessment.
To contribute to the running of Psychosocial Interventions with other members of the SMS MDT.
To support the service to maintain MSNAP accreditation.
To support the Memory Service and wider Dementia Pathway in service delivery developments, e.g., by conducting service evaluations or summarizing relevant research.
Where required, to attend and contribute to appropriate MDT meetings.
To assist in the development of a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all users of the service, across all settings where care takes place.
Teaching, training and supervision
To receive regular (group) clinical supervision in accordance with professional practice guidelines. Additional ad hoc individual supervision can also be provided when needed.
To develop skills and competencies that assist in the delivery of current duties.
To contribute to the training and support of other staff in psychological care.
Some observation & shadowing of other Psychological Professionals within the Older Adults & Neurological Conditions division will be supported where it is part of an agreed development need.
Service Development
To assist in the design and implementation of service development projects within the service as required.
Where relevant, to attend meetings in which service developments are planned and discussed.
Research and service evaluation
To assist in the design and implementation of audit and research projects.
To undertake data collection, analysis, the production of reports and summaries, using IT and statistical programmes.
To undertake searches of evidence-based literature and research to assist the qualified clinical psychologist in evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
Working Environment
Based at Sheffield Memory Service, Northern General Hospital.
Some limited travel likely between Trust bases.
The job role will involve working in situations where there may be occasional verbal abuse from service users carers and the general public.
rk with other team members.
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.
Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust
Sheffield Memory Service
Longley Centre
Sheffield
S5 7JT
https://www.shsc.nhs.uk/working-us (Opens in a new tab)