Hand Therapist

Clinical: To prioritise and manage a specialist clinical caseload, working as an autonomous practitioner and to monitor the caseloads of all hand therapy team members to ensure that an efficient and effective hand therapy service. To provide treatment to patients in various locations including hand therapy outpatients, in-patient wards, day surgery/hand management unit and consultant clinics. To undertake highly specialised hand therapy assessments and incorporate into treatment session, utilising appropriate therapy techniques and therapeutic handling skills of all types of hand conditions and trauma to form diagnoses and/or establish impairments and disabilities. To carry out highly specialist diagnostic assessments on request from consultants when a diagnosis and clinical opinion is required. o To monitor and evaluate treatment to measure progress and to ensure effectiveness of the intervention and to identify quickly when treatment requires modifying. To cross traditional
professional boundaries and demonstrate use of hand therapy assessment and treatment techniques usually performed by occupational therapists and physiotherapists, including static/dynamic splinting, sensory assessments/re-re-education, pressure garment as well as electrotherapy, exercise therapy and some mobilisation techniques. To use advanced clinical reasoning skills to determine if any other treatment is required and if necessary ensure timely written and/or verbal referral to other professions To support more junior staff, both physiotherapists and occupational therapists in the development of their assessment, treatment and clinical reasoning skills to ensure a high standard of care to hand therapy patients. To be available for spontaneous highly specialist advice to patients, therapists and other professionals. Leadership and Management To be responsible for providing an efficient and effective hand therapy service, by demonstrating good leadership, organisational, time management
and prioritisation skills. To work closely with the other band 7 team leads, as well as the band 8a and 8b at all times to ensure that all organisational roles are covered but without needless duplication. To be heavily involved in service development, in conjunction with the clinical specialist and Consultant hand therapist and MDT To take a lead role in the teaching, supervision and appraisal of static and rotational band 5 and 6 therapists (both physiotherapist and occupational therapists), To jointly organise with the other band 7s the hand therapy team schedule in order to cover all clinical areas with the requisite number of staff and relevant level of experience and to update at least one month in advance To be involved in and lead the recruitment and selection of more junior staff Professional Development To be responsible for personal continuous professional development and mandatory training To participate in the appraisal system as appraiser and
appraisee, and be responsible for fulfilling your agreed objectives and personal development plan Education and Research To participate in and contribute to in-service training programme To be responsible for the training and induction of all new members of staff to hand therapy team To participate in or lead teaching at a high level including to senior medical and nursing staff To provide clinical supervision and teaching to more junior staff, students and therapy assistants To be involved in developing, leading and completing local and multicentre research and audits undertaken in hand therapy To provide highly specialist advice, teaching and training to other professionals