Clinical Nurse Specialist - Dermatology

Job overview

Closing Date: 28.09.26 (this may change dependent on response).

Shortlisting to take place following closing date commencing 29.09.26

The post holder will be a clinically based expert practitioner who will take a key role in strengthening the nursing contribution to patients and service users within the speciality across the organisation.

The post holder will assess and treat patients with Dermatological conditions and undertake highly specialised technical and/or practical skills to ensure optimum patient management including; complex patient monitoring; nurse led clinics and defined expanded clinical roles.

In partnership with the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) the post holder will develop, implement and evaluate a seamless specialist service. The role is vital in delivering the highest standards of clinical care and supporting efficiency to drive improvements in health outcomes. The post holder needs to have completed the nurse prescribing course.

Using advanced nursing practice; takes personal responsibility for managing a caseload of patients referred for specialist intervention, care and support.

The post holder will demonstrate highly developed and specialist knowledge and expertise and will be responsible for contributing to the ongoing development of innovative practice, research and standards of care.

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1. Patient Assessment and Screening

• Evaluate skin health: They measure disease severity using scoring tools like the PASI or the DLQI.
• Pre-treatment checks: Screen patients before starting a new medication. This involves checking blood test results and ensuring the patient does not have infections like tuberculosis.

2. Medication Management and Prescribing

• Independent prescribing: Review blood results to ensure these are within parameter.
• Systemic therapies: To manage oral medications (like methotrexate or ciclosporin) that suppress the immune system.
• Biologics: To manage biologic therapies.

3. Patient Education and Support

• Safety advice: To educate patients on when to temporarily stop their medicine if they get sick or need surgery.
• Helpline support: To run patient helplines to answer safety questions and handle concerns about side effects.

4. Monitoring/Follow-Up

• Regular blood tests: To review routine blood and organ function tests to ensure the medications are safe to continue.
• Safety monitoring: To watch for adverse reactions or infections and report these issues to medical teams.

5. Research/Teamwork

• Database registration: To add patient data to research databases like BADBIR (The British Association of Dermatologists Biologics and Immunomodulators Register) to track long-term medicine safety
• Multidisciplinary work: They work closely with doctors, pharmacists, and mental health professionals to ensure the patient gets total care.

Working for our organisation

Our People Charter outlines the behaviours we can expect from one another and what you can expect from Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust:

• We value people
• We are one team
• We care

We’re keen to meet people who share these values and are passionate about delivering the highest quality of care to our patients.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

1. Job Details

• Job Title: Clinical Nurse Specialist – Biologics and Systemics Dermatology
• Pay Band: Agenda for Change Band 6
• Reports To: Lead Nurse
• Accountable To: Matron
• Location: Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (with a requirement to travel between Trust premises)

2. Job Purpose

• Service Leadership: Works closely with and supports the clinical team, taking responsibility for leading identified Dermatology skin diseases such us psoriasis and eczema including the development of care systems, protocols, and guidelines of systemic and biologic treatment for these disease.
• Clinical Accountability: Holds continuing responsibility for the assessment of care needs alongside the development, implementation, and evaluation of evidence-based patient care systems.
• Advanced Nursing Delivery: Delivers advanced nursing skills within complex patient care pathways, specifically managing a cohort of patients diagnosed with inflammatory skin diseases.
• Educational Promotion: Teaches, mentors, and assesses students, trainees, and professional staff to actively promote a progressive learning culture.

3. Job Dimensions

• MDT Integration: Functions as an integral part of the Bradford Dermatology Multidisciplinary Team (MDT).
• Resource Accountability: Optimises specialized nursing skills and leadership competencies to promote the effective, economic use of resources, facilitating delivery of a budgetary balance.
• Autonomy: Accountable for own clinical actions without direct supervision, while remaining legally and professionally accountable for the actions of unqualified members of staff. [1]
• Collaborative Scope: Partners with appropriate healthcare professionals across all care settings, including patient and public representatives, to ensure optimum service provision.

4. Primary Duties & Areas of Responsibility

Clinical

• Advanced Care Delivery: Performs direct fundamental and advanced nursing duties within Trust policies, reporting progress or clinical concerns directly to the Lead Nurse or Level 3 Manager.
• System Development: Directs and develops evidence-based models of nursing care to continuously enhance the overall quality of the patient experience.
• MDT Collaboration: Fosters strong interdepartmental relationships within the MDT to maintain high morale for patients and staff while targeting continuous quality improvement.
• Patient Pathways & Clinics: Conducts weekly clinical activity to safely monitor patients undergoing systemic and biologic therapies. Undertakes future nurse-led clinics by successfully completing agreed training to support service improvements.
• Non-Medical Prescribing: Prescribes, supplies, and administers medications in strict accordance with Patient Group Directions (PGDs) or the Foundation Trust policy on Non-Medical Prescribing.
• Health Promotion: Leads and promotes structured programmes of health education, appropriately involving patients and carers in care decisions.
• Governance & Complaints: Participates actively in all clinical governance processes. Deals effectively and sensitively with patient issues, collaborating with the PALS service and following Trust policy on complaint handling.
• Risk & Safety Management: Leads the clinical team in promoting infection control, environmental safety, and risk management. Operates within national policy frameworks (e.g., Child Protection, Vulnerable Adults, Mental Health Act).
• National Frameworks: Supports and participates in national strategies for service development, including National Service Frameworks and regional clinical pathways.
• Autonomous Decision-Making: Makes daily autonomous clinical decisions and provides expert advice to junior staff regarding complex clinical decision-making. [1, 2]

Leadership

• Corporate Agenda: Takes individual and corporate responsibility for supporting and leading the team through key NHS agendas (e.g., Agenda for Change, Improving Working Lives, Patient & Public Involvement).
• Change Management: Identifies and promotes the need for clinical change, motivating and guiding the team through the change process.
• Team Credibility: Establishes positive, credible leadership within the clinical team to maintain a cohesive, multi-organisational environment.
• Policy Development: Develops clinical policies, protocols, and pathways, evaluating patient outcomes within the Trust’s MDT.
• Staff Appraisal: Exercises professional discretion to conduct individual performance reviews, promoting staff development through structured appraisals and CPD planning.
• Recruitment & Retention: Participates actively in the recruitment, selection, and retention processes for departmental staff.

Education

• Staff Development: Directs the teaching, supervision, mentorship, and assessment of all grades of staff and students undertaking professional qualification programmes.
• Clinical Supervision: Undertakes and directs clinical supervision sessions, acting as an official supervisor to peer staff.
• Mandatory Training: Completes all required mandatory training within specified timescales and ensures junior staff achieve timely updates.
• Learning Environment: Creates a vibrant learning environment, encouraging the use of E-learning platforms to meet essential standards and log evidence of achievement.
• Research & Development: Supports learners in understanding the relevance of Research & Development (R&D) to quality care provision.

Research

• Evidence-Based Practice: Implements evidence-based nursing care and assists staff with literature searches pertinent to patient care.
• Evaluation Strategies: Develops and implements clear strategies for evaluating healthcare interventions.
• Methodological Guidance: Facilitates opportunities for staff to investigate clinical practice using appropriate methodological approaches.
• Knowledge Dissemination: Disseminates departmental best practice through written publications and internal or external presentations.
• R&D Frameworks: Leads the R&D developmental plan for the department in collaboration with the MDT, maintaining awareness of the Trust R&D Approval policy and ethical approval protocols.
• Clinical Audit: Initiates, coordinates, and evaluates clinical audits and standard-setting projects.

5. Special Working Conditions

• Physical Effort: Frequent requirement to spend a substantial proportion of working time sitting or standing in a restricted position; occasional requirement to exert moderate physical effort.
• Mental Effort: Frequent requirement to maintain intense concentration where the daily work pattern is unpredictable.
• Emotional Effort: Frequent involvement in distressing or emotional circumstances due to the nature of clinical and non-clinical dermatology duties.
• Working Conditions: Occasional exposure to unpleasant or highly unpleasant working conditions during clinical tasks. [1, 2]

6. Corporate Expectations

• Health and Safety/Risk Management: Complies at all times with Trust Health and Safety policies, following safe working procedures and reporting incidents using the Risk Incident Reporting System.
• Equality and Diversity: Complies with all policies designed to ensure equality of employment and equitable service delivery. Ensures no staff, patient, or visitor receives less favourable treatment due to gender, ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, or religion.
• Training and CPD: Takes personal responsibility in agreement with the line manager to ensure Continuous Professional Development remains a career priority.

7. Communication & Working Relationships

• Matron
• All grades of nursing staff
• All Healthcare professionals and Learners
• Members of the Clinical Management Team
• External partners
• Primary Care Trust