Detailed job description and main responsibilities

JOB SUMMARY

The successful candidate will be an experienced midwife practising autonomously, providing excellent care to women and their families during the antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal periods.  They will work as part of a multidisciplinary team to deliver maternity care within both the hospital and community settings.  The postholder will work within the framework of the professional standards as set out in The Code and the Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Guidelines and Protocols.  The postholder will take charge of the ward or department with continuing responsibility in the absence of the Senior Midwife.  In the community setting, they will take responsibility for a named caseload and participate with the on call service within the community.  The successful candidate will seek educational opportunities in support of their Continuing Professional Development and help in the development of less experienced colleagues. 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

OBJECTIVES AND PURPOSE OF THE POST:

CLINICAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

1)         To give care throughout the antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal periods to the mother and baby and family. 

2)         To advise on the promotion of health and demonstrate an awareness of the public health agenda.      

3)         To recognise, identify and respond to any physical, emotional and social situations which may influence the health and well-being of the mother and baby.

4)         To assess, plan and implement care within the sphere of practice of a midwife and to meet the physical, emotional, educational and social needs of the mother, baby and the family.

5)         To take action in initiating the action of other disciplines and seeking assistance when required.

6)         To continue and further develop clinical skills.  To work as an expert practitioner.

7)         To undertake care prescribed by a registered medical practitioner.

8)         To demonstrate effective communications with the families, in their care and the multidisciplinary team.

9)         To offer emotional support to women and their families when facing distressing circumstances.

10)      To demonstrate an awareness of the importance of research-based practice.

11)      To work in a multi-disciplinary team, understanding the role of all the members within the team.

12)      To maintain all necessary records and be responsible for data entry into computer based system.

13)      To support the risk management process and assist in its implementation.   To be aware of the risk management strategy and the incident reporting criteria and know how this affects practice.

14)      To have an awareness and contribute to clinical governance agenda.

15)      To understand the value of the Professional Midwifery Advocate and their role.

16)      To provide appropriate care for our multicultural and diverse community including vulnerable and disadvantaged families.

MANAGERIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

17)      To assist and as appropriate take the lead in the running of the ward or department.

18)      To ensure the required statistics are gathered and returned to the Manager as required.

19)      To participate in the group roster planning, ensuring effective time management of the group (Community).   To participate in planning the duty rota maintaining a flexible approach to ensure service cover.

20)      To introduce new staff to the ward and to help supervise their work and report on their progress.

21)      To participate in the supervision and teaching of Student Midwives and other staff providing mentorship and support.

22)      To take charge in the absence of the Senior Midwife with continuing responsibilities.

23)      To assist the department/ward manager in department budgeting and to be economic in the use of ward stocks and clinical requisitions, avoiding waste wherever possible.

24)      To participate in selection and interviewing of newly qualified midwives, MCA’s, MSW’s and Student Midwives.

25)      To discuss and action where appropriate any concerns within child protection.

EDUCATION TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

26)      To undertake appropriate activities to update clinical knowledge and skills and show evidence of continuing professional development using available resources.

27)      To contribute to the ward learning environment through teaching and by example.         

28)      To contribute to audit, research and studies related to area of practice.

29)      To act as a preceptor for a Newly Qualified Midwife offering guidance and support.

30)      To act as mentor for less experienced Midwives and other staff with particular attention to monitoring and continuous assessment of students creating an atmosphere conducive to learning for all staff.

31)      To contribute to policy development.

32)      To provide a programme of parent education sessions as required.

PROFESSIONAL AND LEGAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

33)      To be conversant with the Fire, Health and Safety Policies and other Policies of the Trust.

34)      To be aware of the hazards associated with using equipment and to report any failures of equipment and action.

35)      To be conversant with all the Trust Nursing and Midwifery Policies and Procedures.