NIMDR Nurse Coordinator

POSITION:                               NIMDR Nurse Coordinator

LOCATION:                                  Ekurhuleni District, King Cetshwayo District & UGU District

SUPERVISOR:                        Assistant Program Manager

EMPLOYMENT TYPE:           Fixed-Term Contract 

CONTRACT DURATION:      (01 July 2023 – 31 March 2025)

Isibani Development Partners is a South African-registered NGO, launched in 2011 to become a leading local technical assistance provider, systems strengthening, and grants manager for health and social service in Southern Africa. Isibani has been appointed by the National Department of Health to serve as one of the Sub-Recipients (SRs) for the GLOBAL FUND TB/HIV Program in King Cetshwayo (KZN) and Ekurhuleni (Gauteng) districts, from 01 April 2022 to 31 March 2025.  Isibani seeks to appoint a NIMDR Nurse who will have the knowledge of the DR-TB program management and care to assist the various NIMDR-TB staff in Ekurhuleni District, King Cetshwayo District, and UGU District to coordinate continued nurse-initiated DR-TB care. The position will be based at the district level.

Job Overview: 

The role of a Nurse-Initiated Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) Coordinator will be to play a vital role in the management and control of MDR-TB within a healthcare facility. The coordinator works closely with healthcare providers, patients, and other stakeholders to ensure effective and comprehensive care for individuals with MDR-TB. Nurse Initiated Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (NIMDR-TB) program is aimed at alleviating the shortage of physicians that were at the time the only cadre responsible for initiating MDR-TB patients on treatment. The introduction of NIMDR-TB paved the way for nurses to reduce the workload of the physicians and put task-shifting in motion and the nurses were then tasked with initiating uncomplicated MDR-TB patients on treatment and monitoring the patients throughout the treatment period. Clinics that adopted a task-sharing approach for MDR-TB demonstrated greater treatment success rates than the national average, hence the importance of adopting the NIMDR-TB approach.

Key Performance Areas:

Mentorship

1. Assist the facility clinicians with mentoring nurses, trained in NIMDR-TB, during their practical sessions.

2. Participate in training programs, workshops, and conferences to enhance own knowledge and skills, as well as to educate nurses about MDR-TB management and control within DR-TB program.

3. Assist with refresher courses and update nurses and health care providers in the event of any changes within the DR-TB program.

Clinical Governance

1. Provide clinical support to the trained NIMDR-TB staff.

2. Conduct clinical assessment/ folder audits on the files of patients initiated on DR-TB treatment.

3. Assist with remedial action plans of these folder audits.

4. Assist with quality assurance at all levels of care.

5. Data management and reporting: Accurate and timely data collection and reporting for monitoring the MDR-TB program's effectiveness.

Treatment monitoring and adherence

1. Monitoring of patient progress throughout the course of treatment and track medication adherence. conduct regular follow-up visits and address any challenges or concerns that patients may have. 

2. Monitor that those patients, who were initiated on DR-TB treatment, details are accurately recorded in the patient’s folder, DR-TB register and EDRWeb.

3. Monitor ADR’s being reported and recorded.

4. Monitor treatment outcomes of patients who were initiated by the NIMDR-TB nurses.

5. Identify gaps within the DR-TB programme and assist with remedial action.

Required Knowledge and Skills, and Abilities:

• Innovative thinking, initiative, and leadership qualities

• Computer literacy

• Good writing and presentation skills

• Be able to use initiative in interpreting data

• Must be willing to travel

• A valid driver’s license

• Leadership and generic management competencies and experience

• Personal, interpersonal, and cognitive competencies

• Experience and knowledge of DR-TB management: programmatic and drugs, adverse events, and the management thereof

Qualifications and Experience:

1. A Bachelor of Clinical Medical Practice (BCMP)a degree (clinical associate) and register with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA)Fluency in English and any other two or more local South African languages 

2. A professional nurse with a minimal or equivalent qualification of NQF 7 in Primary Health Care with a dispensing license

3. Current Registration with: HPCSA and SANC

4. Minimum of three years’ experience in DR-TB units

5. The NIMDR-TB Co-ordinator must be a clinical associate, or NIMDR-TB practitioner that will assist with the management of the MDR-TB programme within the district, supporting the NIMDR-TB programme

6. The NIMDR-TB coordinator should have prior/ current experience, not less than three years, in the treatment and management of DR-TB care. 

7. Experience in DR-TB program management and be updated with the current DR-TB clinical practices as per the 2019 DR-TB Clinical Reference Guidelines

8. Good understanding of the M&E system

Suitable candidates to send applications at: applications@isibani.org.za

Please Note: Please specify the below reference number on the subject line of your email for a quicker response                             

                                   Ekurhuleni District-  “NIMDR EKU 002”

                                                King Cetshwayo District “NIMDR KCD 002”

                       UGU District “NIMDR UGU 002”

                                                Closing date: Friday, 09 June 2023

                             Kindly note that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.