The Senior House Officer/ Medical Officer role provides specialized quality health care to critically ill patients and involves continuous evaluation and improvement of care provided by the institution to meet patient treatment goals. This role primarily operates within the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and High Dependency Unit (HDU) under the supervision of the Critical Care Consultant.
Key Responsibilities
1. Access and Management of Patients
- Participate in daily multidisciplinary rounds in the ICU & HDU as per the monthly schedule/rota, under the supervision of the Critical Care Consultant.
- Provide clinical instruction and appraisal of junior medical staff in the critical care units, with oversight by the Critical Care Consultant.
- Perform and/or supervise Critical Care procedures within their competence in the ICU & HDU under the supervision of the Critical Care Consultant.
- Assess and examine patients, order, and interpret diagnostic studies, develop care plans, and update patients, their families, primary care providers, and other consultants. This will be done under the supervision of the Critical Care Consultant.
2. Consultation outside the Critical Care Units
- Assist in the initial assessment and triage by phone, electronic means, or in person of potential critical care patients by providing assessment, management, and triage advice to non-critical care medical providers, at the direction and supervision of the Critical Care Consultant.
- Participate in the review and development of appropriate policies and procedures for patients’ health care to formulate best practice guidelines.
- Participate in discussions with relevant members of the clinical care team to enable better integration of patient care activities under the supervision of the Critical Care Consultant.
3. Resource Management
- Work closely with other members of the clinical care team to reduce errors and waste, improve skillfulness, and optimize resource utilization.
4. Research, Academics, and Quality Improvement
- Provide clinical instruction to medical school students, interns, and residents as assigned.
- Participate and occasionally present in weekly Morbidity and Mortality meetings for the section of critical care.
- Seek opportunities to attain and maintain competency in knowledge and skills to perform duties described.
- Seek feedback from Critical Care Consultants on performance.
- Participate in all institutional quality improvement and patient safety activities.
5. Other Duties
- Perform other duties as may be assigned by the Critical Care Medical Director, including participating in all team efforts as departmental (DOM) and sectional (Critical Care) needs arise.
Qualifications, Experience and Skills required
- Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB).
- Registration by the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Board.
- Valid Certificate in Advanced Life Support (ACLS and above).
- Certificate in Advanced Trauma life support.
- Successful internship completion plus one year post internship experience.
- Demonstrate competency and dexterity with all equipment utilized in the hospital environment.
- Good communication skills and a good team player.
- Ability and desire to continuously develop professionally.
- Demonstrates respect for diversity and is cultural-sensitive and applies ethical principles appropriately.
- Seeks and accepts advice and adheres to strict deadlines.
- Clinician traits of patience, compassion, responsibility, honesty, respect for others, self-awareness, logical thinking and intellectual curiosity.
- A clinician with a demonstrated constructive management of medical errors.
