The Division of Surgery at North Canberra Hospital (NCH) is responsible for delivering inpatient and outpatient surgical services and includes Surgical Bookings, Pre-Admission Clinic, Anaesthesia, Pain Management Unit, Perioperative Suite, Post-Anaesthetic Care Unit, Day Surgery Unit, Admissions, Endoscopy, Breast Care Nursing, Specialist Outpatient Clinics and surgical ward areas.

The Specialist Outpatient Department at NCH incorporates the specialties of General Surgery, Gynaecology, ENT, Orthopaedics, Vascular, Lymphedema, Cardiology, General Medicine, Neurology, Renal, Endocrinology, as well as Diabetes Education, Breast Cancer Nurses and Women’s Health Physiotherapy.

This position is an exciting opportunity for a dynamic and experienced Registered Nurse (RN) to fill a Clinical Nurse Consultant (CNC) role at the NCH. This position provides clinical oversight and coordinates the delivery of clinical care across the Specialist Outpatient Department, NCH Breast Care Nursing and Pre-Admission Clinic teams.

The Clinical Nurse Consultant - Specialist Outpatient Breast Care Nursing and Pre-Admission Clinic reports directly to the Assistant Director of Nursing (ADON) Surgical Services and joins the nursing leadership team for the Division of Surgery. This position is responsible, in collaboration with the ADON Surgical Services, for the management of the physical, fiscal and human resources across the portfolio.

The CNC RN 3.2 is a source of expert nursing knowledge, skills, and attributes. The CNC must demonstrate a higher level of skill and the ability to perform a more demanding role covering the domains of clinical care, leadership, education, safety, and communication.

1. Provide expert clinical leadership, strategic direction, and coordination for the Specialist Outpatient, Breast Care and Pre-Admission Clinic nursing teams in conjunction with the ADON Surgical Services, to deliver high quality care and ensure continuous service delivery.
2. Lead and manage standards of care, clinical governance, and service improvement. This includes the oversight of care provision that will continuously meet and exceed National Safety and Quality Health Care Standards.
3. Lead, coordinate, and work in partnership with the multidisciplinary team to facilitate change management initiatives to achieve the strategic objectives of CHS, drive evidence-based care practices, and an awareness of wider organisational objectives.
4. Responsible for coordinating end-to-end recruitment processes in line with organisational policy and employment legislation.
5. Promote a professional and respectful workplace by identifying and initiating timely and supportive conversations with staff regarding professional conduct, workplace behaviour, and performance concerns, assessing lower-level issues complaints and workplace concerns in line with local procedures, resolving matters where appropriate and escalating serious or unresolved issues.
6. Prepare service activity reports and escalate any activity, staffing or related issues, and actively participate in responding to patient feedback complaints processes within the required time frame.
7. Actively support other senior nurses, the ADON, and Division of Surgery leadership team with human resource management and the implementation of performance frameworks.
8. Development, publication and ongoing management of the Specialist Outpatient, Breast Care and Pre-Admission Clinic nursing roster ensuring adherence to the provision of rostering best practice principles.
9. A demonstrated commitment to understanding financial obligations, wise stewardship and contribution to day-to-day operational management through adherence to maintaining a budget and its associated requirements.
10. Provide leadership and oversight of the professional standards and capabilities of the nursing team and foster an environment that encourages regular feedback, professional development, and reflective practice.
11. Undertake other duties appropriate to this level of classification which contribute to the operation of the organisation.

• Strong organisational skills with attention to detail.
• Progressive, adaptable, and flexible leadership skills with the ability to successfully introduce change and provide responsive services to meet clients’ needs.
• A strong focus on person centered care and a commitment to quality outcomes.
• Effective communication skills and the ability to manage confidential and sensitive information.
• Ability to work within a multidisciplinary team in a dynamic and changing work environment.
• Time management skills and the ability to independently meet deadlines.
• Effective communication and negotiation skills.
• Competent in holding difficult conversations and making the required decisions in line with relevant legislation and standards of practice.

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following.

Essential

• Registered or eligible for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia under the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).

Desirable

• Post graduate qualifications or working towards in a related field.
• Have an understanding of how the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) indicators align with this role.

Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to the following.

Essential

• A minimum of 5 years’ experience working professionally as a nurse in a senior role.
• Fulfil the responsibilities of this role in alignment to the CHS Exceptional Care Framework and all other related frameworks.

Desirable

• Pre-employment National Police Check.
• Comply with Canberra Health Services Occupational Assessment, Screening and Vaccination policy.

All employees are required to:

• Adhere to the Canberra Health Services Values and the ACT Public Service Code of Conduct.
• Act in accordance and comply with all relevant Safety and Quality policies and procedures.
• Comply with all relevant clinical and/or competency standards.

CHS is leading the drive to digitally transform health service delivery in Australia through the implementation of a territory wide Digital Health Record. Computer literacy skills are required which are relevant to this role as you will be responsible for completing required documentation and becoming a proficient user of the Digital Health Record and/or other Information Technology systems; once proficient, you will need to remain current with changes, updates, and contingencies.

These are the key selection criteria for how you will be assessed in conjunction with your resumé and experience.

1. Demonstrated ability to oversee the operational management of a healthcare team, including triaging patient care and contributing to the management, assessment and treatment plans for individuals within a complex environment.
2. Demonstrated ability to lead a nursing team and be adaptable, flexible, and innovative when problem solving issues including clinical, service capacity, and staffing issues.
3. Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with patients, medical officers, administrative staff and other stakeholders via strong leadership, negotiation, and advanced communication skills, both written and verbal.
4. Demonstrated stewardship in financial management and contribution to the day-to-day operational management of a health service, including responsible ordering of supplies, understanding cost center reports, compliance with enterprise agreement obligations when rostering, and completing related reports as required within timeframes.
5. Demonstrates understanding of, and adherence to, safety and quality standards, Work Health and Safety and the positive patient experience. Displays’ behavior consistent with CHS’s values of reliable, progressive, respectful, and kind.

The following work environment description outlines the inherent requirements of the role and indicates how frequently each of these requirements would need to be performed. Please note that the ACT Public Service is committed to providing reasonable adjustments and ensuring all individuals have equal opportunities in the workplace.

Administrative	Frequency
Telephone use	Frequently
General computer use	Frequently
Extensive keying/data entry	Frequently
Graphical/analytical based	Occasionally
Sitting at a desk	Frequently
Standing for long periods	Occasionally

Psychosocial demands	Frequency
Distressed People e.g. Emergency or grief situations	Frequently
Aggressive & Uncooperative People e.g. drug / alcohol, dementia, mental illness	Frequently
Unpredictable People e.g. Dementia, mental illness, head injuries	Frequently
Restraining e.g. involvement in physical containment of clients/consumers	Frequently
Exposure to Distressing Situations e.g. Child abuse, viewing dead / mutilated bodies; verbal abuse; domestic violence; suicide	Frequently

Physical demands	Frequency
Distance walking (large buildings or inter-building transit)	Frequently
Working outdoors	Occasionally

Manual handling	Frequency
Lifting 0 - 9kg	Frequently
Lifting 10 - 15kg	Occasionally
Lifting 16kg+	Never
Climbing	Never
Running	Never
Reaching	Occasionally
Kneeling	Occasionally
Foot and leg movement	Frequently
Hand, arm and grasping movements	Frequently
Bending/squatting	Occasionally
Bend/Lean Forward from Waist/Trunk twisting	Occasionally
Push/pull	Frequently
Sequential repetitive movements in a short amount of time	Occasionally

Travel	Frequency
Frequent travel – multiple work sites	Frequently
Frequent travel – driving	Occasionally

Specific hazards	Frequency
Working at heights	Never
Exposure to extreme temperatures	Occasionally
Operation of heavy machinery e.g. forklift	Never
Confined spaces	Never
Excessive noise	Occasionally
Low lighting	Occasionally
Handling of dangerous goods/equipment e.g. gases; liquids; biological.	Occasionally
Slippery or uneven surfaces	Occasionally