Occupational Therapist - Expert Clinician ED

• Permanent Part time 0.85FTE
• Hours of work are 68 hours per fortnight on a rotating roster
• Based at Christchurch Health Campus

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is firmly grounded in the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is committed to building a health system that serves all New Zealanders.

About the Role

We have an exciting opportunity to join the supportive Occupational Therapy team at Christchurch Hospital. We are looking for an experienced NZ Registered Occupational Therapist to join us on a permanent basis working within the Emergency Department. You will join the existing ED team which includes an Advanced Occupational Therapy Practitioner. As part of the team you will be leading further development of the ED service for Occupational Therapy and the wider Allied Health team.

As per the South Island Allied Health Career Framework, the Allied Health Expert demonstrates highly specialist knowledge and skills to manage highly complex presentations. The role works in partnership with AH Leaders and Managers to contribute expert knowledge, skills and/or leadership to a specific and identified scope of work and/or clinical specialty and across the continuum of health care, through for example: consultation, support, advice, training, education and research, and/or optimising interdisciplinary (IDT) development with the aim of improving patient/client care and outcomes and contributes to the achievement of organisational goals.

You will play a key role in assessing patients, particularly those with frailty or head injuries, to support safe and effective discharge or admission decisions. You'll work as part of an interdisciplinary Allied Health team, collaborating with whanau and colleagues to achieve the best outcomes for patients from diverse social and cultural backgrounds.

In this role, you will be instrumental in quality and service improvement initiatives, contribute to transfer and discharge planning, and help shape the development of integrated team working in the ED. You will also provide mentoring and supervision to students and Occupational Therapy colleagues across the service.

The position is part time and will be rostered over a 7 day week between the hours of 0730 and 2000, with one weekend and one other weekend day required per 4 weeks.

About You

You will have a minimum of 5 years clinical experience and have proven expert clinical skills and knowledge of the acute hospital setting and working with older people experiencing frailty related conditions. You will be able to demonstrate clinical leadership expertise and experience in leading quality improvement initiatives as well as:

Your skills will include:

• Comprehensive clinical assessment, clinical reasoning/interpretation within scope and competency, and problem solving skills
• 5 years relevant clinical experience with experience/knowledge of working in acute care environment as well as older persons health
• Ability to work autonomously and collaboratively, to develop positive interpersonal relationships, and work flexibly within the inter-disciplinary team, with a team player attitude
• Acting as an expert in the field delivering professional leadership and supervision of clinical activity and practice, through provision of expert clinical advice, consultation and support to clinical practitioners, while working within professional or occupational policies and being accountable for own professional actions.
• Effectively planning and managing your own clinical and non-clinical time and time of others while working with other internal and external tangata (stakeholders), managing meetings, projects, provision of services, as well as long term strategic planning, with potential requirement to support profession-related conferences, formal programmes of education or training.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, to liaise effectively with health professionals both within the in-patient services and in the community
• Strong clinical reasoning skills and use of evidence informed practice
• Effective time management and organisational skills
• Strong prioritisation skills and experience with complex discharge planning
• Registration with the NZ Occupational Therapy Board and current Annual Practicing Certificate (or eligibility to obtain)
• A positive attitude and passion for this area of work

It is also expected that you will contribute to the ward weekend roster at times.

Working for Health New Zealand

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is dedicated to ensuring excellent healthcare for the people of New Zealand. We embrace a workforce that is diverse and inclusive so that we are better positioned to understand and service our community. We welcome applications from our diverse Maori, Pacific, disabled, and rainbow communities.

How to Apply

To apply for the role please click 'apply now.' All applications must be submitt