Employer heading

Fitness instructor - Band 5

NHS AfC: Band 5

Please note that if you apply for a position with this Trust, you may be contacted via Trac or via email. This includes invites for job interviews. We therefore recommend that you regularly check your Trac Account and email accounts.

Please note that this job advert will close as soon as sufficient applications have been received. So if you are interested, please apply for this vacancy as soon as you can.

Job overview

This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing and evolving service. We are looking for enthusiastic individuals to join our team and provide support, advice and instruction to our patients so that they can make the changes necessary to be happy and healthy while living with a heart condition.

A successful applicant will lead exercise classes, design personalised exercise programs for our patients and will work with our team to design a world class Cardiac rehab program. They will take the lead role in delivering the exercise component of the Cardiac Rehabilitation service for patients who may have complex and/or chronic presentations using evidence-based guidelines.

Main duties of the job

To develop and deliver a comprehensive high-quality Cardiac Rehabilitation exercise programme for patients with a wide range of cardiac conditions in line with national standards.

To act as a skilled autonomous practitioner choosing, planning and developing the most appropriate treatment programmes tailored to individual needs ensuring access to high quality and equitable service for all patients in either hospital or community settings.

They will work in conjunction with the Cardiac Rehabilitation nurse specialists to jointly deliver education and relaxation components of cardiac rehabilitation managing both medical and surgical patients.

They will be an active member of the team and will participate in delivering an education programme to patients, families and carers that is research and evidence based whilst participating in work related audit/research projects in cardiac rehabilitation.

The post holder will assess, plan and design a comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation exercise programme that is tailored to meet the individual needs of each patient.

During each programme, they will monitor, evaluate and record patient outcomes, offering advice and support. Using risk factor analysis, they will provide a high standard of patient care by setting individual patient centred goals.

The role involves looking after patients post MI, PCI, cardiac surgery, heart failure, and other cardiac events.

Working for our organisation

NBT cardiac rehab provides a patient-driven holistic approach to empower our patients to lead in the management of their condition through education and motivational interviewing. Last year we accepted 820 referrals and we are planning to expand this year by taking on new patient groups. We favour a menu-based approach to exercise including home programs and gym-based supervised exercise. We use several venues across North Bristol.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Professional:

Assess the suitability of individual patients referred to the cardiac rehabilitation service Assess the needs of each patient using expert knowledge, skills and assessment tools such as CHESTER step test or shuttle walk. Design and prepare an exercise rehabilitation programme and with the patients consent, implement and record outcomes throughout the programme. Ensure all patients baseline observations are completed and recorded on initial assessment and review appointments. This may include: Temperature, Pulse, Respiration, Blood Pressure, Respiratory Rate, Oxygen Saturation and Skin Inspection Use risk factor analysis and appropriate risk stratification to determine the suitability of each patient referred in to the cardiac rehabilitation programme in order to identify and offer the appropriate cardiac rehabilitation option(s) Empower and involve patients with the decision making and planning of their treatment management plan Able to work professionally with flexibility and adaptability to ensure clinical capacity, capability and time utilisation are fully maximised Support patients to maximise their full potential by encouraging them to have a better understanding of their condition, therefore allowing them to work towards self – management as an ‘expert patient’ Able to use own initiative when monitoring and supervising patients, reviewing and assessing their treatment plan using BORG scale and heart rates. Increasing and / or decreasing the exercise programme to meet individual needs and setting realistic goals for their condition to improve Awareness of and referral into community support services e.g. phase 4 practitioners, smoking cessation, social prescribers, GP referral for exercise and British Heart Foundation support groups Able to deliver evidence-based health education programmes to patients, their families and carers, therefore providing primary and secondary health promotion for patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) Appropriate and suitable to deliver as per NICE guidelines – Acute Coronary Syndromes 2020. BACPR guidelines 2023 and ACPICR 2015 an inclusive Cardiac Rehabilitation Programme to meet local demand Able to modify each programme according to the suitability of patients being referred. This may include, but not be limited to home-based/virtual exercise and low intensity-based sessions for high to moderate risk dependency patients with physical limitations due to co-morbidities such as stroke, cancer or musculoskeletal disorders, and or gym-based programmes for low to moderate risk dependency patients Able to deliver exercise programmes using a variety of methods for example a group session and/or an individual based programme in varied delivery modes such as face to face or virtually in order to maximise patient engagement and uptake of the service To educate and empower patients to take control of their condition wherever possible and assist them in self-management skills, encouraging them to undertake a cardiac rehabilitation programme to help improve quality of life Able to communicate effectively, sensitively and with empathy to patients, families and carers that may have been exposed to distressing information or circumstances To use evidence-based techniques to empower, motivate and support patients, their families and carers, where lifestyle changes are required in order to prevent a re-occurrence of a further cardiac event To liaise with and foster good working relationships with all members of the multi - disciplinary team in order to effectively plan and deliver a robust cardiac rehabilitation service Ensure that clinical documentation is accurate, contemporaneous, legible and that all correspondence is completed clearly and in a timely manner in accordance with the trusts policies and procedures on clinical record keeping Able to organise and maintain own daily workload for the exercise and assessment component of the programme. Able to discharge patients when the programmes have been completed and / or sign post those patients on to other services if they require further ongoing treatment Able to prioritise and re-schedule duties, which may involve short notice, when having to cover for any unplanned absences, study leave and unexpected annual leave Will ask for advice, support and guidance from the Cardiac Rehabilitation nurses whenever any concerns arise Will be required to maintain basic life support (BLS) skills and defibrillation training and as necessary and wherever appropriate, will be able to utilise this in an emergency situation using own professional judgment Promote and foster close working relationships with primary/secondary care services e.g. hospital Cardiology services, GP practices, district nurses; thereby ensuring a seamless community service for patients cared for by the Cardiac Rehabilitation team Be involved with and participate in regular team and departmental meetings when invited to attend in order to ensure that accurate and up to date information is transferred and disseminated to all members within the team To maintain a working knowledge of the safeguarding policies and procedures, report any incidents of actual or potential abuse in a timely manner and attend or access on-line, all relevant mandatory training as required by the trust

Education and development

To work within the guidelines of the British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (BACPR) and Register of Exercise Professionals (REP’s), in order to maintain standards of practice and undertake regular training as required Maintain own clinical competencies, knowledge and skills, including an awareness of local and national changes and initiatives within cardiac care and the wider vascular agenda. This can be done by reading, attending relevant study days / workshops / conferences / private study by utilising the intranet / internet Participate in regular clinical supervision, undertake reflective practice and complete relevant documentation to keep in own personal professional portfolio as evidence of learning achieved As trust policies, procedures and guidelines on mandatory training, will undertake all training either on line or by attendance, any relevant to professionals needs as identified within the monthly training reports Comply with trust policies, procedures and guidelines on mandatory training, undertaking all training either elearning or by attendance as required To support and participate in the induction of newly appointed staff and is able to advice and support students who are on clinical placement within the team Act as an educational resource for health care professionals, provide effective evidence-based teaching to patients, their families and carers regarding CHD diagnosis, self-management skills, lifestyle advice, and treatments, and coping strategies

Audit and research

Assist with improving the quality of the Cardiac Rehabilitation service by making recommendations and suggestions for change that will develop the service Assist with providing evidence-based approach to practice within the team and participate in the development of quality initiatives, including standards of patient care, clinical audit and monitoring of service provision To actively influence and promote patient and public involvement within the development of the service and will assist with the monitoring and evaluating of service provision through patient user groups and patient satisfaction surveys Participate in the regular collection of data for the service using excel spread sheet and local and national audit data-based systems including NACR. Ensuring that data is inputted within the specified time period

Additional duties

Will be responsible for requesting an order for stock items as needed To undertake other duties commensurate with this grade of post in agreement with the relevant line manager To minimise the Trust’s environmental impact wherever possible, including recycling, switching off lights, computers, monitors and equipment when not in use. Helping to reduce paper waste by minimising printing/copying and reducing water usage, reporting faults and heating/cooling concerns promptly and minimising travel. Where the role includes the ordering and use of supplies or equipment the post holder will consider the environmental impact of purchases

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMPSA) Level 3 Evidence of Degree in Sport Science or other sport related degree which includes anatomy & physiology subjects British Association of Cardiac Prevention & Rehabilitation (BACPR) Phase 4 Training

Desirable criteria

The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMPSA) Level 4 The British Association of Sports and Exercise Sciences (BASES) – Certified Practitioner

Training

Desirable criteria

Basic Life Support and AED Trained

Other

Desirable criteria

Membership of relevant Exercise organisations i.e. BACPR/CIMSPA

Experience

Essential criteria

Experience of delivering exercise to complex patient groups with multiple co-morbidities

Desirable criteria

Experience of delivering Phase 3 and/or 4 Cardiac Rehabilitation Evidence of delivering structured group education to complex groups of cardiac patients regarding lifestyle changes An understanding of the needs of socially and culturally excluded groups of patients Experience and understanding of the NHS and health care systems Experience of supervising junior members of staff / students that are on placement within the team Experience of undertaking exercise assessments to determine suitability onto the program, including goal setting

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

Essential criteria

Highly effective communication skills - verbally and written to staff, patients and relatives including in situations of conflict or distress Strong organisational skills - prioritising complex situations Ability to review exercise data and information to ensure effectiveness of individual risk stratification programme Able to work autonomously using own initiative and able to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team Able to assist with supervising students on placement within the team Experience of using IT systems, and Microsoft Office tools – to include Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook

Personal Qualities/Special Circumstances

Essential criteria

Willingness to be flexible for example; have the ability to independently travel around the trust and external sites to enable delivery of the current service contract in order to meet the needs of the service Flexibility, adaptability to meet needs of a changing service Ability to cope with emotional issues presented in the course of work, and to support others Initiative, personal integrity, reliability and ability to demonstrate confidence Have a proactive, enthusiastic and a positive approach Delivering exercise sessions throughout the day and inducting clients on equipment Supporting patients with emotions well-being and mental health, supporting low self esteem Time management throughout the day Be able to manage a group setting, design programs and assist in achieving goals

Further details / informal visits contact

NameThomas CrabtreeJob titleCardiac Rehab Lead PractitionerEmail [email protected] number01174140040Additional information

I work Monday to Friday