The Clinical Nurse Consultant - Coronial Family Support role is one of three Nurse roles based at the Townsville mortuary, Townsville University Hospital. The Clinical Nurse Consultant - Coronial Family Support will report operationally to Regional Director Forensic Pathology at Townsville mortuary, and will receive practice and clinical supervision by the Assistant Director of Nursing at FPaCS, Coronial and Public Health Sciences.
This position involves working with death on a daily basis and regular exposure to the bodies and explicit material of deceased persons of all ages, often in states of disfigurement, decomposition and/or disruption.

Your key responsibilities

• Develop a contemporary understanding of community expectations regarding coronial deaths, and provide consultancy, clinical leadership and advocacy to support the needs of bereaved families.
• Provision of high level clinical services in relation to grief, loss and bereavement support, crisis intervention and short-term counselling to families, affected by violent, sudden or unexpected death both in face to face and telephone settings.
• Provision of detailed information of a complex, frequently distressing, potentially traumatic nature to families, about Coronial processes, autopsy findings and the circumstances surrounding deaths reported to the Queensland Coroner.
• Coordination and outcomes management of objections to internal autopsy examination and the retention of prescribed tissue, as required by the Coroners Act 2003. Requires high level skills in communicating with a diverse range of Stakeholders including coroners, pathologists, police and next of kin/family members.
• Provision of trauma-informed support and debriefing to families before, during and after formal coronial identification processes and compassionate viewings.
• Interpret medico-legal terminology associated with autopsy examination outcomes and cause of death findings and explain these medical findings to family members.
• Provision of support and assistance to family members where a clinical judgement is made to decline a viewing request.
• Support the forensic pathology team to obtain and interpret medical evidence relating to deaths that may be reportable under the Coroners Act 2003.
• Support the forensic pathologists by undertaking concise and accurate chart reviews of hospital records in relation to complex hospital admissions
• Support the coronial process through sensitive discussion with bereaved family members regarding health history and conditions where required.
• Provide clinical nursing expertise to forensic pathology to obtain and interpret a wide variety of medical evidence to assist the forensic pathologists.
• Undertake clinical liaison with treating medical practitioners internal and external to Queensland Health
• Provide education and advice to families regarding referral pathways where potentially inheritable disease is identified at autopsy.
• Undertake health promotion discussions where a potential family risk of disease is identified during the coronial process.
• Support the objectives and priorities of the Coroner's Court of Queensland by liaising with external practitioners and organisations to facilitate appropriate management of reportable deaths.
• Provision of high level detailed clinical advice and support to coroners, forensic pathologists, government medical officers, and staff from Queensland Police Service and Department of Justice and Attorney-General in relation to the impact of the coronial process on bereaved families.

To apply for this exciting opportunity, submit your resume and a written response (maximum 2 pages) online today!