RN Dementia Coordinator

Medefer

5d•$30•Remote

About The Position

Join Medefer, a pioneer in virtual-first specialist healthcare, as a Dementia Coordinator. We are looking for compassionate and driven individuals to transform patient care. As a Dementia Coordinator, you will engage with patients who have purchased memory assessments or Alzheimer's blood tests through our self-pay dementia service. Following a specialist's report, you will conduct supportive telephone or video calls to discuss next steps, practical and social aspects of living with memory problems, and connect patients and families with available resources. Your interactions will be professionally documented as part of the patient's record. This is a self-employed contractor role, initially requiring a few hours per week on an ad hoc and casual basis, with calls scheduled around your availability. There is potential for growth in hours and scope, including contributing to service design and supporting a wider team as the service develops.

Requirements

Registered Nurse with current NMC registration and a licence to practise.
Evidence of continued professional development.
Post registration experience in dementia care, gained within a memory service, an Admiral Nurse post, primary care, community mental health or a similar setting.
In-depth knowledge of the dementia diagnostic pathway, and detailed awareness of the national and local support available to patients and carers.
Advanced communication and listening skills, with experience of holding sensitive conversations with patients and families about memory problems and dementia.
Confident practice under the Mental Capacity Act, and confident recognising and raising safeguarding concerns.
Ability to work to a defined scope, and to escalate rather than answer when a question falls outside it.
Ability to work independently and autonomously, remotely, by telephone and video.
Currently working within an NHS or other clinical role and able to provide up to date documents in accordance with clinical compliance requirements.
Reliable availability once work is accepted.

Nice To Haves

Admiral Nurse or other Dementia UK aligned experience
primary care dementia experience
familiarity with blood biomarker testing for Alzheimer’s disease
experience of service development or of writing operating procedures

Responsibilities

Hold supportive telephone or video calls with patients at agreed points in the dementia assessment pathway, at a time that suits the patient.
Support the patient in treatment decisions in light of information provided by the specialist.
Talk through the specialist’s report in practical terms and discuss the options for what the patient can do next.
Demonstrate effective communication skills, supporting patients in making decisions, planning care or seeking to make positive changes to promote a person-centred approach in health and care.
Ensure patients and their families are provided with information and support, both verbal and written where required, to make an informed decision about their care and options.
Signpost and connect patients and carers to the support available to them, including NHS memory services, Admiral Nurse services, Alzheimer’s Society, local support groups, carer assessments, benefits advice, and lasting power of attorney and financial advice.
Provide health education and advice to patients and their carers, including practical brain health advice where the assessment found nothing of concern.
Hold a short suitability conversation with patients enquiring about the Alzheimer’s blood test, confirming they meet the agreed criteria and discussing what the test can and cannot tell them, escalating to the Clinical Lead where suitability is unclear.
Work within the agreed scope of the coordinator role, which is to explain and navigate rather than to assess. Diagnosis, clinical interpretation of results, prescribing and changes to a care plan sit with the consultant, and a dementia diagnosis is always communicated by a qualified clinician.
Escalate to the consultant on call any question that falls outside the coordinator scope, and to raise safeguarding concerns without delay.
Accurately and concisely document all contact provided.
Practise in accordance with the respective code of professional conduct and within the designated scope of practice, responsible and accountable for own decisions, actions and omissions at this level of practice.