Specialist Diabetes Nurse

Job responsibilities

Clinical practice

Perform advanced clinical skills in assessment, diagnosis and treatment.

Assess, plan, implement and evaluate care delivery according to changing health care needs.

Collect, collate, evaluate and report information, maintaining accurate patient records.

Involve patients and carers and relatives in the planning and delivery of care and development of services.

Work collaboratively with the multidisciplinary team and outside agencies to ensure patient needs are met, especially in relation to ongoing care needs

Act as a resource for specialist advice and expert clinical knowledge across the Practice, giving advice to colleagues on the clinical management of patients.

Provide expert specialist advice and education to patients and carers/relatives to enable the safe and independent management of their diabetes.

Undertake clinical supervision and education of nursing colleagues on an individual or group basis.

Delivering a quality service

Recognise and work within own competence and professional code of conduct as regulated by the

NMC

Produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete records of patient consultation, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures

Prioritise, organise and manage own and other's workload in a manner that maintains and promotes quality

Deliver care as an individual and team according to NSF, NICE, other relevant local guidelines, contracts and evidence-based care

Assess effectiveness of care delivery for the organisation through peer review, benchmarking and formal evaluation

Maintain quality governance systems for the nursing team, including the adherence to and promoting of the Care Quality Commission requirements

Implement and review the application of evidence-based practice in the organisation

Utilise the audit cycle as a means of evaluating the quality of the work of self and the team, implementing improvements where required

Evaluate patients' response to health care provision and the effectiveness of care

Participate in shared learning across the practice and wider organisation

Identify learning from clinical incidents and near-miss events utilising a structured framework (eg root cause analysis - significant event procedures)

Assess the impact of policy implementation on care delivery

Understand and apply legal policy that supports the identification of vulnerable and abused children and adults, being aware of statutory child/vulnerable adult health procedure and local guidance

Work within policies regarding family violence, vulnerable adults, substance abuse and addictive behaviour, and refer as appropriate

Team working

Understand own role and scope in the practice and identify how this may develop over time

To organise, co-ordinate and lead on MDT meetings to review patients deemed to be at greatest risk/need and ensuring MDT discussions take place to manage those with higher levels of complexity and the recommendations from MDT meetings are acted upon in a timely manner

Work as an effective member of the team, supporting others and exploring the mechanisms to develop new ways of working

Prioritise own workload and ensure effective time-management strategies are followed.

Work effectively with others to clearly define values, direction and policies impacting upon care delivery this includes not only at PCN level but also at neighbourhood and locality level

Be involved in activities that create opportunities to improve patient care and upskill other staff members and increase the skills mix used in delivering care for patients with diabetes and related metabolic syndromes.

Participate in and support local projects as agreed with the practice management team

Management of risk

Manage and assess risk within the areas of responsibility, ensuring adequate measures are in place to protect staff and patients

Monitor work areas and practices to ensure they are safe and free from hazards and conform to health, safety and security legislation, policies, procedures and guidelines

Apply infection-control measures within the practice according to local and national guidelines

Apply policies that reduce environmental health risks, are culturally sensitive and increase access to health care for all

Participate in the local implementation strategies that are aligned to the values and culture of general practice

Communication

The post-holder should recognize the importance of effective communication within the team and will:

Demonstrate sensitive communication styles to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to treatment

Communicate effectively with patients and carers, recognising the need for alternative methods of communication to overcome different levels of understanding, cultural background and preferred ways of communicating

Anticipate barriers to communication and take action to improve communication

Participate in practice team meetings

Utilising information

Use technology and appropriate software packages as an aid to the planning, implementation and monitoring of care, presenting and communicating information, including the Practice clinical software and other software packages

Review and process data using accurate Read codes in order to ensure easy and accurate information retrieval for monitoring and audit processes. Utilise and promote the accurate completion of Practice templates and be involved in the continual improvement of these processes.

Manage information searches using the internet and local library databases

Understand the responsibility of self and others regarding the Freedom of Information Act

Adhere to Information Governance guidelines and complete IG training.

Learning and development

Act as mentor for more junior staff and students, assessing competence against set standards

Disseminate learning and information to other team members in order to share good practice and inform others about current and future developments (eg courses and conferences)

Upskill other staff members, support any transformation work to increase the skills mix used in delivering care for patients with diabetes and related metabolic syndromes.

Assess own learning needs and undertake learning as appropriate

Provide an educational role to patients, carers, families and colleagues in an environment that facilitates learning

The post holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment

To participate in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development

Clinical Skills/Knowledge

Essential

• Outstanding clinical knowledge and skills commensurate with an experienced GP
• Experience in patient education and supporting self-management in diabetes
• Commitment to health inequalities, patient empowerment, and personalised care planning

Desirable

• Experience in multidisciplinary team (MDT) working across primary and secondary care

Other Requirements

Essential

• DBS

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Nurse
• Minimum 5 years post-registration experience, including at least 2 years in diabetes care
• Specialist qualification in diabetes care (e.g., PGCert, MSc module)
• Full NMC Registration

Experience

Essential

• Demonstrated understanding of national diabetes care standards and guidelines (e.g., NICE, QOF, NDA)
• Evidence of ongoing professional development (CPD) relevant to diabetes care

Desirable

• Experience of QOF and clinical Audit
• General Understanding of the GMS contract
• Experience to work in a primary care environment

Skills

Essential

• Excellent communication skills (written and oral)E
• Skilled in using digital tools for care delivery or patient monitoring (e.g., LibreView, EMIS,)E
• Experience in training/educating other health professionals in diabetes careE
• Flexible and Cooperative E
• Motivated Forward thinkerE
• High level of integrity and loyaltyE
• Sensitive and empathetic to distressing situations E
• Ability to Work as a team player and autonomouslyE
• Effective time management E
• Excellent interpersonal skillsE
• Problem solving and analytical skills E
• Experience with clinical risk management E
• Proven ability to lead or contribute to service improvement or audit in diabetes servicesE
• Experience with clinical risk management E
• Experience to follow clinical process and procedures E

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Polite and Confident
• Flexible and cooperative
• Ability to work under pressure
• Problem solver with the ability to process and interpret information
• High levels of integrity and loyalty
• Effectively able to understand the needs of the patient, staff and colleagues

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).