Headache Specialist Nurse

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the country. It provides a wide range of general and specialist clinical services and is a base for medical education, training and research.

The Trust comprises of four hospitals - the John Radcliffe Hospital
, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury.

Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community. We call this
Delivering Compassionate Excellence
and its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence.

Many of our recruitment programmes use
Value Based Interviewing
to identify those who have the skills we seek, who share our values and who are able to deliver compassionate excellence from the outset. We know that this makes a significant difference to your job satisfaction and above all the outcomes and experience of our patients and their families. For more information about our Values and Value Based Interviewing please

• Employed as a Senior Specialist Nurse, working at an enhanced level of practice or towards advanced practice, completing a master’s degree (Level
  7) programme or other specialist service training curriculum, in line with their primary professional regulatory body requirements.
• Fulfilling the expectations and capabilities of a Senior Specialist Nurse will be achieved through workplace-based training and assessments and in clinical practice, with support through clinical supervision in own service/speciality area.
• The Senior Specialist Nurse will be supported in their professional development and wellbeing, working at the level of enhanced practice, or towards advanced practice, through achievement of the academic requirements and evidence of workplace-based capabilities and competence within their service/speciality.
• The Senior Specialist Nurse will be expected to demonstrate and develop proficiency across the four pillars of practice, namely Clinical, Leadership and Management, Education and Research appropriate to their level of practice, and their scope of professional practice.

• The post holder will be the lead specialist nurse for headache, responsible for the management and development of their specialist service and complement the role of the consultant neurologist by providing a quality service for a caseload of patients with headache disorders.
• The post holder will practice autonomously as a core member of the multi-disciplinary team, providing strong, visible leadership to support a safe and effective, responsive clinical service for people suffering with Headaches / Migraines. This patient centred service is delivered through clinics, home appointments, telephone and e-mail.
• The post holder will develop and deliver a programme of practice development for staff in the Health Board, General practitioners and students focusing on headache diagnosis and management guidelines.
• The post holders own practice should be developed to an advanced level, whereby they can directly or indirectly influence all aspects of care and management of patients within the speciality. This will include the diagnosis, independently of the consultant neurologist, simple headache disorders. Patients with complex headaches, abnormal clinical signs, red flags or unusual features will be discussed by the Clinical Nurse Specialist for Headaches (CNS) with the consultant neurologist and diagnosis and management plans for the headache disorder will be jointly agreed.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS…