Job Description
Role Title:Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner (RANP): Out Patient Antibiotic Therapy (OPAT) Job Reference Number:000723 Closing Date:Sunday, 13th October 2024 Purpose of the Role: The advanced practice service is provided by nurses who practice at a higher level of capability as independent, autonomous and expert advanced practitioners. The overall purpose of the service is to provide safe, timely, evidenced based nurse-led care to patients at an advanced nursing level. This involves undertaking and documenting complete episodes of patient care, which includes comprehensively assessing, diagnosing, planning, treating, and discharging patients in accordance with collaboratively agreed local policies, procedures, protocols and guidelines and/or service level agreements/memoranda of understanding. The RANP OPAT demonstrates advanced clinical and theoretical knowledge, critical thinking, clinical leadership, and complex decision-making abilities. The RANP OPAT practices in accordance with the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for Registered Nurses and Registered Midwives (NMBI 2014), the Scope of Nursing and Midwifery Practice Framework (NMBI 2015), Advanced Practice (Nursing) Standards and Requirements (NMBI 2017), and the Values for Nurses and Midwives in Ireland (Department of Health 2016). The RANP service provides clinical leadership and professional scholarship in the delivery of optimal nursing services and informs the development of evidence-based health policy at local, regional, and national levels. Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) is the administration of intravenous antimicrobials to patients through HOPAT where a nurse calls to the patients home daily and administers the antibiotic, or SOPAT where the patient is trained to self-administer the antibiotic, or as co-OPAT where the patient is in a stepdown facility e.g. St Lukes hospital or a nursing home setting. A key part of this role will support the development of scope to include both PICC line and Mid line insertion. OPAT is governed through the Infectious Diseases service in St. Jamess Hospital, the current lead is Prof Susie Clarke. The OPAT team operate through the governance of the National OPAT programme and conforms to all guidelines. The service manages referrals from inpatients, outpatients, the ED, and community referrals through GPs. The RANP OPAT as part of a team and will provide a service to an adult population and provides services that are not limited to the following example of commonly referred conditions: Osteomyelitis Abscess Care Septic Arthritis Post-surgical wound infection Pyelonephritis, Prosthetic joint infection Cellulitis The RANP OPAT contributes to nursing research that shapes and advances nursing practice, education and health care policy at local, national and international levels. The role will contribute to nursing research to shape and advance nursing practice, education and health care policy at local, national, and international levels. Required: Be a Registered Nurse or Midwife on the NMBIs Active Register. Annual registration: Practitioners must maintain active annual registration on the Advanced Nurse Practitioner Division of the register of Nurses and Midwives maintained by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (Bord Altranais agus Cnimhseachais na hireann) for the role. Must possess the requisite knowledge and ability including a high standard of suitability and clinical, professional and administrative capacity to properly discharge the functions of the role. And Confirm annual registration with NMBI to the HSE by way of the annual Patient Safety Assurance Certificate (PSAC). Demonstrate I.T. skills including excellent keyboard skills. Experience in teaching and assessing junior staff/nursing students. Advanced Knowledge and clinical expertise in the management of patients with infectious disease and/or anti-microbial stewardship. Desired: Experience in OPAT services. Nurse Prescribing. Working knowledge of healthcare patient record systems. Research/poster/publication Skills: Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner RANP Out Patient Antibiotic Therapy (OPAT)