How To Write A Job Description

My trust cares about it’s dedicated staff, it’s very serious about the zero tolerance campaign against staff violence. It’s even discussed encouraging police to take action against mental health patients. If their violence has nothing to do with their mental health problems of course.

Please keep this in mind when reading the rest of the entry.

I previously discussed the usefulness of downloading stuff from the Internet. Regrettably they downloaded my new job description from the Internet.

This is the base they used for my job, I will discuss and provide guidance to interpretation.

The first thing to notice is this is a job description for a general nurse, not a mental health nurse. How will they cope with this ?

Internet Job Description [IJD]

Department(s): Nursing

My Job Description [MJD]

Department(s): Mental Health Nursing

I like the confusion over the number of departments.

Job Purpose

[IJD]

To work within the nursing and multi-professional team to ensure a high standard of care to a defined patient group.

[MJD]

My job description says almost exactly the same. It does manage to use twice as many words though.

Key Result Areas

Mine is similar to the base. It is missing two though.

5. To organise own workload to ensure that the interests of patients/clients are met.

6. Responsible for maintaining patient records within agreed standards.

I’m glad I don’t need to ensure client needs are met, it would just interfere with all the stock taking that needs to be done.

That is unfair really, they have replaced the above with this.

To promote and maintain defined standards of nursing care in line with Nursing and Midwifery Council’s Code of Professional Conduct.

They’ve also added fluff about knowing current mental health legislation. They’ve also added something about administering medicines correctly.

Decisions and Judgments

First two are much the same. I also have two other bits.

[MJD]

The post holder is required to assess risk and take appropriate actions which at times may require breaching confidentiality

The post holder is required to uphold their statutory responsibility under the Mental Health Act (Nurses holding power)

When I read these out over the phone to colleagues elsewhere they made a confused sort of coughing snorting choking noise. I have christened said noise a Snortchokle. Use the word at your next dinner party, I am sure it will catch on.

Most Challenging Difficult Parts Of The Job

[IJD] & [MJD]

Achieving a balance between the demands of direct patient care within existing resources.

Translation: We will not provide you with the resources to do your job.

Physical, Mental, Emotional and Environmental Demands Of The Job

Mostly the same. I like this one:

Mental Demand
Concentration required observing patient behaviours that may be unpredictable

I find it takes no concentration at all to watch unpredictable behaviour. The eye is drawn to it. One of the highlights of the job really.

Emotional Demands
Being involved in the physical restraint of patients

After all we have to restrain people after we have broken their confidentiality and then used our nurses holding power following our observation of their unpredictable behaviour. That’s almost what I spend my entire day doing.

Here is my favourite though. The following is the entire reason for this post.

[IJD]

Working Conditions
Exposure to verbal aggression (indicating frequency)

Well I would disagree with that. I don’t think there should be the tiniest hint of acceptability of abuse to-wards anybody, no matter what their job. Though I can see why they want to put it in. If you work in A&E or a High Secure Environment things are likely to be strained, tempers fray, there may be some shouting and swearing.

What did our Zero Tolerance (to violence & abuse against NHS staff) employer change the above to ?

[MJD]

Working Conditions
Exposure to body fluids and Faeces
Exposure to verbal and physical aggression from patients and their relatives and or carers.

First of all I hope they don’t combine both of the above, that would just be unpleasant. Read the second condition though, read it again, let it sink in.

Translation: We are quite happy for clients to bring their friends and family around and all give you a kicking; this is part of your job.

Not only verbal aggression; which is bad enough. But physical aggression ! Which indicates to me actual physical contact. Or in modern language a reet good kicking.

Even writing about it is driving me into a frenzy; I’m going to go now and chill out by restraining some patients for a while

btw: I had a lovely holiday

Mental Nurse