Work with us at the Irish Cancer Society

We are recruiting nationwide for Night Nurses due to increased demand for Services.

Title: Night Nurse

Reports to: Night Nursing Manager

Relationships: The Community Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist or Public Health Nurse involved in the patient’s care or GP.

Accountability: Professionally accountable as described in Nursing & Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI), Code of Professional Conduct (Code NMBI, 2021) and Scope of Practice Framework for Nursing/Midwifery (Scope NMBI, 2015) Irish Cancer Society.

Hours: On a required and agreed basis.

Role Summary

The Irish Cancer Society offers a free Night Nursing Service to palliative patients in their homes, cared for by their families and friends. The service gives help and support to these carers especially at the advanced stage of the patient’s illness. The Irish Cancer Society Night Nursing Service is always complementary to and should follow instructions given by the community Palliative Care Team or the community Primary Care Team i.e. GP or PHN.

 Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Participate in the planning, assessment, implementation and evaluation of nursing care to provide symptom relief and comfort to enable the patient to continue to be cared for at home.
• Provide advice, support and education for the carers and family according to their needs.
• Ensure continuity of patient care by communicating and liaising with medical and/or nursing colleagues, providing accurate and timely reports of any changes in the condition of the patient.
• Keep main carer/family up to date as to the patients ongoing medical condition.
• Maintain accurate records in order to reduce the risk of errors as per NMBI, Code of Professional Conduct & NMBI Recording Clinical Practice Guidelines.
• Administer medicinal preparations in accordance with NMBI Guidance for Registered Nurses and Midwives on Medication Administration (NMBI, 2020) Code of Professional Conduct (Code NMBI, 2021) and ICS policies and procedures.
• Report any drug errors immediately to the patient’s GP, doctor on call or the doctor attached to the hospice and/or community Palliative Care Team.
• Open disclosure is a core professional requirement which is anchored in professional ethics.
• Use evidence based practise to develop and maintain high quality patient care and ensure the continuous improvement of the Night Nursing Service.
• Report verbally any accident or untoward incident during or immediately following the shift, depending on the incident, to the patient’s GP, Community Palliative Care Team or Public Health Nurse and to follow with an incident form which is submitted to the Night Nurse Manager.
• To adhere to a ‘no smoking’ on duty policy which must be observed at all times.
• At all times to observe the ‘no sleeping on duty’ policy.

 General

• Adhere to NMBI, Code of Professional Conduct and be familiar and up to date with the Scope of Practise advisory documents.
• Maintain a level of knowledge, skill and competence related to current drugs and/or therapies in the treatment of pain and other symptoms and administer medication according to the instructions given by the GP or doctor attached to the hospice and/or community Palliative Care Team.
• Accept opportunities for continuing education in palliative care nursing provided by the Irish Cancer Society.
• Exercise awareness of professional responsibilities by reading current, relevant literature and by taking up opportunities for personal and professional development.
• To be aware of one’s own responsibilities towards health and safety and in particular relating to moving and handling patients and the use of universal precautions.
• To be aware of personal safety issues in the community. In the rare event that a nurse finds themselves in a threatening or intimidating situation they must make a judgement regarding their own safety in relation to remaining in the patient’s home.
• Carry identification in the form of the Irish Cancer Society badge. A uniform is optional, smart casual clothes and soft soled shoes can also be worn.
• Act as an ambassador of the Irish Cancer Society (Night Nursing Service) at all times with patients, relatives, colleagues and members of the public.
• Adhere to the Data Protection policy on all aspects of data safety and storage.

Confidentiality

There must be absolute confidentiality regarding the patient’s diagnosis, prognosis and other information that the nurse may be told or become aware of. This information must only be shared with the health care professionals directly involved in the patient’s management.

Hours of Work – Working Time Policy

• The Organisation of Working Time Act (1997) limits the maximum working week to 48 hours. Weekly working time can be averaged out over a four month reference period. Staff who have completed a full shift, cannot report back to work until 11 consecutive hours have elapsed.
• It is the responsibility of each employee to ensure that that have received adequate sleep during that rest time, prior to going on night duty. Time spent by an employee on ‘standby’ or ‘on call’ is not considered working time.
• Each employee is required to have a period of 24 hours’ rest in each seven day period. This period can be averaged out over 14 days i.e. each employee should have a minimum of two days’ rest a fortnight.

 Person Specification

• Registered on the General division of Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI).
• Qualified in General or Paediatrics Nursing
• Have Seven years’ experience post qualification.
• Experience working with palliative patients.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, caring and compassionate.
• Ability to work on own initiative.
• Ability to work under the direction of the Community Palliative Care Team and Primary Care Team.
• Proven ability to display good judgement adopting a common sense approach.
• Full clean driving licence and car essential.
• This job description applies to those providing nursing care on behalf of the Society and is not exhaustive. It merely acts as a guide and may be amended to meet the changing requirements of this service.

Training, Education & Support will be provided.

How to Apply:

Please send curriculum vitae (quoting NMBI Number) and cover letter to Amanda Walsh, Recruitment Administrator, Irish Cancer Society, 43-45 Northumberland Road, Dublin 4 or Email recruitment@irishcancer.ie

For informal enquiries and more information about the role, please contact recruitment@irishcancer.ie 

The Irish Cancer Society is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to building an inclusive environment for all employees. We know that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. 

Night Nursing salary scale