Lead Advanced Nurse Practitioner - Thoracic Surgery & Service Developm...

Lead Advanced Nurse Practitioner - Thoracic Surgery & Service Development Blackrock Health Blackrock Clinic

Location: On site / Dublin, Ireland
job type: Permanent / Full-time
Sector and subsector: Medical & Healthcare Nursing & Midwifery
Salary: Negotiable salary

Job Title: Lead Advanced Nurse Practitioner - Thoracic Surgery & Thoracic Service Development

Professional Reporting: Director of Nursing Blackrock

Operational & Clinical Reporting: Professor Karen Redmond, Consultant Thoracic & Lung Transplant Surgeon and Clinical Lead for Thoracic Surgery

Contract: Permanent, full-time

Blackrock Clinic is the leading and longest established private hospital and clinic in Ireland. Since it opened in the mid-1980s, the clinic has consistently built an unparalleled reputation in new high-tech surgical procedures, medical treatments, and ground-breaking diagnostics.

Blackrock Clinic is now part of Blackrock Health private hospital group along with the Hermitage Clinic, Galway Clinic, and Limerick Clinic, some of the most advanced hospitals in Irish private healthcare. As a JCI accredited hospital, Blackrock Clinic is a progressive and pioneering hospital in which care for the patient is central to everything we do.

Role Purpose

The Lead Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP) will provide expert, autonomous, evidence-based nursing care across the complete thoracic surgical patient pathway. The post holder will lead specialist thoracic nursing services from referral through assessment, surgery, recovery and long term follow up, ensuring seamless continuity of care, excellent patient experience and service development. Working closely with Professor Karen Redmond and the multidisciplinary team, the Lead ANP will coordinate the Pectus Check, Lung Check and Lung Volume Reduction programmes while contributing to education, research, innovation and quality improvement.

Key Responsibilities

Advanced Clinical Practice

• Provide advanced assessment and management for patients undergoing robotic thoracic surgery, VATS, lung cancer surgery, mediastinal surgery, pleural surgery, chest wall surgery, lung transplantation (where appropriate), lung volume reduction surgery, endobronchial valve therapy, pectus surgery and benign thoracic surgery.
• Provide continuity of care across the entire patient journey.

Pre admission Assessment

• Coordinate referrals and triage.
• Lead pre operative optimisation including pulmonary function testing, CT imaging, CPET, echocardiography and anaesthetic assessment where indicated.
• Deliver patient education and prepare patients for Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS).

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS)

• Lead ERAS pathways include mobilisation, nutrition, chest drain management, pain management, respiratory physiotherapy, discharge planning and audit.
• Coordinate discharge from admission onwards.
• Liaise with GPs and community services.
• Provide telephone advice, virtual clinics, wound review, chest drain follow up and early identification of complications.
• Attend consultant clinics with Professor Karen Redmond.
• Run independent nurse led clinics and coordinate all thoracic follow up.
• Lead the Pectus Check Programme.
• Coordinate the Lung Check Programme.
• Coordinate the Lung Volume Reduction Programme including smoking cessation, pulmonary rehabilitation referrals and MDT preparation.
• Maintain programme databases and outcome monitoring.

MDT Coordination

• Coordinate Thoracic Surgery MDT, Pectus MDT and Lung Volume Reduction MDT.
• Ensure investigations are available, decisions communicated and agreed actions implemented.

Theatre Responsibilities

• Develop first assistant competencies in thoracic surgery.
• Support robotic and minimally invasive thoracic surgery.
• Maintain expertise in thoracic instrumentation and theatre workflow.

Education

• Educate ward nurses on thoracic surgery, chest drain management, wound care, ERAS and recognition of complications.
• Deliver education for GPs, respiratory physicians, oncologists, physiotherapists and community teams.

Professional Development

• Complete radiology referral qualification where applicable.
• Undertake smoking cessation training.
• Develop advanced wound care, scar management and chest drain competencies.
• Participate in research, audit and conference presentations.

Leadership & Service Development

• Develop SOPs, patient pathways and governance processes.
• Support JCI standards and quality improvement.
• Develop referral networks and mentor nursing colleagues.

Key Performance Indicators

• Timely completion of pre admission assessments.
• High ERAS compliance.
• Reduced length of stay and readmissions.
• Growth of Pectus Check, Lung Check and Lung Volume Reduction programmes.
• Annual education, audit and research outputs.

At the Blackrock Clinic, we are passionate about our people and believe in their development and growth. As a member of the team, you can benefit from:

• Pension
• Sports and Social club
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Discounted onsite pharmacy

Job descriptions are a reflection of the present service requirements and may be subject to review and amendments to meet the changing needs of the service. Please note that we reserve the right to close this vacancy early if sufficient applications are received.

Blackrock Clinic is an Equal Opportunities employer, and we are committed to creating an environment that promotes equality and dignity at work.

Blackrock Clinic is committed to providing reasonable accommodation when needed. Please advise if you have particular requirements, so that we can look into arranging reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process. You can contact us at

It is essential that you have valid work permission for the Republic of Ireland to take up employment for this position, or in the case of critical skills, you must be eligible for a work permit.