POSITION DESCRIPTION Grade 4 Physiotherapist Physiotherapy Department Date revised: June 2015 POSITION: AWARD/AGREEMENT: Grade 4 Physiotherapists Health Professionals (Public Sector Victoria) CLASSIFICATION TITLE: Grade 4 DEPARTMENT/DIVISION: ACCOUNTABLE TO: OPERATIONALLY ACCOUNTABLE: PROFESSIONALLY ACCOUNTABLE: Caulfield Physiotherapy Dept/ Allied Health DIRECT REPORTS: All staff working in the designated Physiotherapy Stream (minimum of 14 staff) ALFRED HEALTH Alfred Health is the main provider of health services to people living in the inner southeast suburbs of Melbourne and is also a major provider of specialist services to people across Victoria. The health service operates three outstanding facilities, The Alfred, Caulfield, and Sandringham. Further information about Alfred Health is available at www.alfredhealth.org.au OUR VALUES Our staff are expected to demonstrate and uphold our values of: Integrity, Accountability, Collaboration and Knowledge. Our values provide the platform for the way we work and the decisions we make. Through this approach, our Vision and Mission are achieved.
CAULFIELD PHYSIOTHERAPY DEPARTMENT Caulfield Physiotherapy Department provides an extensive range of inpatient and ambulatory services in the areas of rehabilitation, aged care, transition care and residential care services. The physiotherapy department has nearly 70 staff with another 36 physiotherapists working in other ambulatory and community services on site. The physiotherapy department s core business is to contribute to Caulfield Hospital agreed performance targets. The department provides subacute clinical services and expertise in the following areas: acquired brain injury, neurology, non-traumatic spinal cord injury, orthopaedics, amputees, burns, complex regional pain, cardiac rehabilitation, aged care, transitional care and aged psychiatry. In addition to these services the department is also responsible for the day to day management of the hydrotherapy pool. Caulfield, Alfred and Sandringham physiotherapy departments work closely together to provide a consistently high quality and equitable service across the continuum. There is strong commitment to a service delivery model that can flexibly move resources across all sites to accommodate fluctuations in service demand. Physiotherapy staff routinely rotate across all Alfred Health campuses and support the weekend and after hours services on all campuses. Caulfield Physiotherapy Department is a major partner in the Alfred Health Physiotherapy Clinical Schools for both La Trobe and Monash universities and in this role provides core clinical placements for more than 80students annually. There is a strong commitment to professional development and research with staff able to access an extensive continuing education program on site and the support of Associate Professor of Physiotherapy for research activities. POSITION SUMMARY The Grade 4 Physiotherapist will work primarily on site at Caulfield Hospital and is one of five Grade 4 physiotherapist positions within the Physiotherapy Department. The overall objective of the position is to provide clinical and operational leadership in one of four clinical streams within the Physiotherapy Department: Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), Aged Care, Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, Neurological/ Spinal Rehabilitation. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES The Grade 4 Physiotherapy stream leader will be responsible for the current and future provision of high quality physiotherapy services across all clinical areas within the designated stream. They will ensure that physiotherapy in these areas is responsive to the changing needs of the community and works within an interdisciplinary framework to optimise care and minimise risk. The Grade 4 physiotherapist will be responsible for the supervision and performance management of all staff working in the stream and students undertaking clinical placements in those areas. Leadership and Management Provide clinical and strategic leadership for one of the three physiotherapy clinical streams Provide leadership in program evaluation within and across physiotherapy streams Provide leadership to the overall department and apply team building strategies as required Provide senior staff within the clinical stream with supervision, training, instruction and performance development and management in accordance with Alfred Health policies, particularly around non-clinical duties Provide support to the stream with clinical supervision Proactively adapt to changes in service demand, government policy, current and future trends in service delivery and workforce issues Provide support for the Manager of Physiotherapy in a range of activities including quality and business planning, development of strategic direction and policy and representation on external committees. Undertake the responsibilities of the manager as required. Demonstrate a high level of clinical expertise with utilisation of skills by others within hospital and profession
Provide leadership to the interdisciplinary team in generic matters and projects related to specific allied health units Service Provision Accountable for physiotherapy service provision in the identified clinical stream Develop and evaluate relevant clinical practice competency standards across the Physiotherapy service. Maintain an individual clinical caseload and act as a consultant/ resource in the relevant areas of expertise both within Alfred Health and elsewhere Ensure physiotherapy clinical practice within the designated stream is evidence based, works from the principles of best practice and is tailored to meet the individual needs of clients Provide a tertiary consultancy service to other areas of Alfred Health and elsewhere. Develop and maintain systems to review the effectiveness and efficiency of physiotherapy intervention within these clinical areas Develop, implement and evaluate systems to minimise clinical risk Teaching and Research Provide leadership in the teaching of undergraduate physiotherapists at Alfred Health Physiotherapy Clinical School through: direct student supervision, ongoing review and improvement of clinical placement content, support/ education of G2 & G3 staff providing student supervision, representation at appropriate clinical school meetings, in accordance with Alfred Health policies. Provide support and training to supervisors Provide expertise into curriculum, course and policy development at the universities Provide external lectures where requested Undertake the role of assessor and administrator for Australian Physiotherapy Council for overseas trained physiotherapists as required. Provide post graduate physiotherapist student supervision as required Facilitate and coordinate stream research in collaboration with others and identify research and quality improvement priorities annually Establish quality framework and reporting structures within stream Monitor quality activities and support junior staff Seek out funding opportunities for research and write submissions In conjunction with the Assoc. Prof Physiotherapy lead x1 research project per stream per annum. Actively undertake and lead research projects within the stream and achieve publication. Present papers/ posters at relevant conferences. Provide a leading role in service development Professional Development Continue to develop own clinical expertise across the areas within the clinical stream Expand operational skills in areas of service planning, policy development, human resources and financial management Identify skill gaps within the staffing mix of the clinical stream and a plan to develop these skills Provide leadership in the departmental and stream in-service program Be responsible for educational activities and opportunities within the stream Attend peak relevant professional conferences related to stream QUALITY, SAFETY, RISK and IMPROVEMENT Maintain an understanding of individual responsibility for patient safety, quality & risk and contribute to organisational quality and safety initiatives Follow organisational safety, quality & risk policies and guidelines Maintain a safe working environment for yourself, your colleagues and members of the public.
Escalate concerns regarding safety, quality & risk to appropriate staff member, if unable to rectify yourself. Promote and participate in the evaluation and continuous improvement processes. Comply with principles of Patient Centred Care. Comply with Alfred Health mandatory continuing professional development requirements. Comply with requirement of National Safety & Quality Health Service Standards and other relevant regulatory requirements. OTHER REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL ALFRED HEALTH STAFF: Ensure compliance with relevant Alfred Health clinical and administrative policies and guidelines. Comply with relevant privacy legislation. Protect confidential information from unauthorised disclosure and not use, disclose or copy confidential information except for the purpose of and to the extent necessary to perform your employment duties at Alfred Health. In this position you must comply with the actions set out in the relevant section(s) of the OHS Roles and Responsibilities Guideline. KEY CAPABILITIES AND VALUES: Capabilities Commitment to providing an innovative high quality service to Physiotherapy clients Exceptionally strong theoretical knowledge across the clinical areas in the designated stream Wide ranging and well consolidated clinical experience in a hospital setting Excellent clinical reasoning/ decision making skills in the clinical areas of the designated stream operating within an interdisciplinary team Excellent ability to assess clinical risk and an ability to identify and implement strategies to minimise risk across the stream. Demonstrated initiative and flexibility in approach to service delivery Excellent verbal communication and negotiation skills to support effective liaison with clients, their carers and other health professionals Ability to relate to and treat clients with a wide range of disabilities from a variety of social and ethnic backgrounds Excellent written skills meeting medicolegal, clinical and statistical responsibilities Ability to provide guidance and support to other staff working within an interdisciplinary framework. Coordinate, support and evaluate the clinical placement program for physiotherapy students in the designated stream. Undertake the role of a clinical supervisor for physiotherapy students as required within the designated stream. Demonstrated commitment to staff development and continuing education and quality improvement Values Values consistent with those of Alfred Health which are: Caring and responding to our patients
Encouraging and achieving excellence, continual learning and improvement Working in partnership and co-operation Being responsible and accountable for the services we provide Achievement through team work Treating people with integrity, in a friendly, trusting and respectful manner and environment. KEY SELECTION CRITERIA Qualifications Essential: 1. A Bachelor degree or Masters degree in Physiotherapy or equivalent 2. Current registration as a physiotherapist with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency 3. Post graduate qualifications in Physiotherapy or other relevant clinical or managerial areas 4. Victorian Drivers licence Desirable: Experience and Knowledge: Essential: 1. Physiotherapists with the skills and experience you would expect to acquire over a 10 year period 2. Extensive experience and expertise in one of the specialist areas of the physiotherapy stream. 3. Strong clinical knowledge in all services within the stream. 4. An understanding of the healthcare environment and future trends in physiotherapy service provision. 5. Excellent verbal and written communication and negotiation skills. 6. Proven ability to work effectively in an interdisciplinary team 7. Proven ability and commitment to work collaboratively with patients and their carers in a person centred framework 8. Extensive experience in the provision of undergraduate clinical education 9. Extensive experience in the management of graduate physiotherapists and support staff and a demonstrated ability to produce improved clinical outcomes in supervised staff. 10. Proven history of involvement in research, conference presentations, and quality improvement processes. 11. Working knowledge of human resources, occupational health and safety policies and the Therapeutic Goods Act. Desirable: Diverse and recent experience in the public health care setting Familiarity with capital and other equipment needs within a large physiotherapy department Able to speak fluently a second language represented strongly in the community Caulfield Hospital services. Fluent in a language relevant to the main ethnic communities Caulfield Hospital supports. Position Description authorised by: Karen Perkins June 2015