Practice Nurse

Job responsibilities

Duties and Responsibilities

The post holder will use their knowledge of best and evidence based practice and the GMS contract (including the Quality Outcomes Framework) to strive to deliver, promote and improve standards of care. They will be involved in identifying practice population needs and in being proactive in making suggestions for service improvement. The post holder is expected to undertake any training and development necessary to keep their knowledge and practice up to date and current.The post holder will work directly within the Practice Nursing team.

The duties and responsibilities to be undertaken include all of the items in the following list. Duties may be varied from time to time under the direction of the Practice Nurse Managers, Business Managers and the GP Partners.

Main responsibilities

(Please note the below points are based on an individual level of training/qualification)

• Undertake cervical cytology screening in conjunction with screening guidelines, promoting breast awareness opportunistically

• Offer chronic disease management in line with local and national policy

• Undertake opportunistic screening when clinically required

• Perform venepuncture and electrocardiography

• Carry out ear examination and irrigation

• Administer adult and paediatric injections/immunisations/vaccines under an individualised prescription or Patient Group Direction

• Provide advice on lifestyle issues; encouraging, assisting and supporting patients in changing their unhealthy behaviours and referring on appropriately

• Being aware and recognising the signs of child abuse, family violence, vulnerable adults, substance abuse, addictive behaviour's, and suicidal tendencies; proactively utilising local referral procedures where necessary

• Manage work load effectively and answer any direct tasks, emails or communications in a timely manner

• When required be available to carry out home visits (staff must ensure relevant car insurance level is in place to support this)

• Apply infection control measures when collecting and handling of laboratory specimens, disposing of waste materials, dealing with blood and body fluids spillages and report and treat sharps injuries; promoting best practice within the Practice

• Assist and support the medical/nursing colleagues in the management of clinical emergencies as required

• Undertake annual training and demonstrates competency in anaphylaxis and resuscitation techniques

• Provide safe, evidence-based, cost-effective, individualised patient care
• Offer a holistic service to patients and their families, developing where appropriate an on-going plan of care/support, with an emphasis on prevention and self-care
• Promote health and well-being through the use of health promotion, health education, screening and therapeutic communication skills

Flexibility of Working Hours

You will be expected when appropriate, as part of your role, to cover sickness and annual leave, which is integral to the effective running of the Practice. Also you will be expected to be available if required to assist in extended surgeries to cater for the practice need.

Confidentiality

• In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately in all circumstances

• In the performance of the duties outlined in this Job Description, the post-holder will have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers; practice staff and other healthcare workers and also to information relating to the Practice as a business organisation. Information from these sources is to be regarded as strictly confidential

• Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the Practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the Practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data

Safeguarding

• All staff must have an understanding of the importance of safeguarding adults, children and young people to ensure that are able to live a comfortable life in safety, free from abuse and neglect. As a practice we should always promote our patients wellbeing in their safeguarding arrangements

Health & Safety

The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others health, safety and security as defined in the practice Health & Safety Policy, the practice Health & Safety Manual, and the practice Infection Control policy and published procedures. This will include:

• Utilising security systems appropriate to the workplace according to Practice guidelines

• Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks

• Undertaking and making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills

• Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards

• Active reporting of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately

• Keeping own work areas and general / patient areas generally clean, assisting in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness consistent with the scope of the job holders role

Equality and Diversity

• The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:

• Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues

• Acting in a way that recognizes the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with Practice procedures and policies, and current legislation

• Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their differing beliefs, circumstances, feelings, priorities and rights.

• The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the Practice as part of this employment, such training to include:

Personal/Professional Development

• Participation in an regular performance reviews

• Taking responsibility for identifying own development and learning needs and for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development

• Undertaking training to upskill should the practice have a need for the post holder to do so

• Utilising acquired skills and activities to assist others who are undertaking similar work

Quality

The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the Practice, and will:

• Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk

• Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision

• Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teams performance

• Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs

Effectively manage own time, workload and resources

Communication

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

• Communicate effectively with other team members

• Communicate effectively with patients and carers

• Recognise peoples needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly

  The post-holder will:

Contribution to the Implementation of Services:

• Apply Practice policies, standards and guidance

• Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work

• Participate in audit where appropriate

SKILLS, QUALIFICATIONS and other REQUIREMENTS

• Active NMC registration

• Computer skills

• Literacy skills

• Good face to face and telephone communication skills

• Ability to work under pressure and prioritise workload

• Friendly and approachable

• Team worker

• Flexibility to cover extra hours as required due to holidays, sickness etc.

• Ability to deal calmly with diffiult situations

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered First Level Nurse
• Post basic qualifications in primary care related nursing practice including Chronic disease management specifically management of diabetes.
• The post holder must have experience in cervical cytology and immunisations.
• Excellent general knowledge base of current professional nursing issues in primary care
• Good working knowledge of infection control procedures, protocols and guidance
• Knowledge of evidence base and current best practice in primary care including health promotion strategies, self-care and prevention
• Understanding of policy and practice relating to safeguarding, risk assessment and risk management
• Up to date knowledge of relevant Health & Safety Practices in nursing and primary care clinical settings
• Current knowledge of diversity and health inequalities
• Knowledge of Patient Group Direction and associated policy
• Knowledge and awareness of clinical and information governance issues and practice in primary care
• Significant and demonstrable experience as a qualified nurse.
• Experience of promoting healthy lifestyles, self-care and prevention and supporting patients to change lifestyle
• Effective verbal communication skills; adjusting language, style and content as appropriate to the audience.
• Effective written communication skills with the ability to write comprehensive and high quality records and reports where required
• The ability to convey instructions and delegate clearly and effectively.
• Able to plan, prioritise and manage own workload
• Is able to make quick assessments of and draw logical conclusions from situations in order to make effective decisions
• Basic IT skills for record management and data inputting and record keeping
• Is motivated and a self-starter; strives to achieve
• Has a positive can do attitude is solutions focused and takes personal responsibility to deliver what is required.
• Is patient focused; strives to deliver a high quality service and make a positive contribution to improving the health of patients and the local population
• Has effective interpersonal skills; able to develop and maintain effective working relationships; is self-aware and can reflect on own actions and has the ability to understand other peoples motivational and emotional needs.
• Is a team player; able to work constructively with others in a team setting.
• Is resilient; can remain calm when under pressure and has the ability to regulate behaviour even when provoked.
• Has a high degree of personal integrity
• Is adaptable and flexible being receptive to change and new ideas
• Ability to acknowledge and respect differences in people and treat people as individuals.
• Is able to manage others in an effective and motivating way; being fair minded, consistent and even handed in their approach; people orientated whilst maintaining a focus on the task.
• Evidence of commitment to continuing professional development
• Willingness to undertake further training for the advancement of the service where required
• Able to work core hours and to work flexibly as required
• Physically able to undertake the demands of the post with adjustments where necessary

Desirable

• Evidence of further academic achievement/practice relevant to primary care e.g.:
• oFamily planning
• oNurse prescribing
• Highly developed specialist knowledge of nursing in a primary care setting including the GMS contract and Quality Outcomes Framework; long term conditions, chronic disease management, vaccination and clinical examination skills
• Significant and demonstrable experience as a qualified nurse in primary care/general practice including long term conditions, chronic disease management, cervical cytology, immunisation, vaccination, doppler and clinical examination skills
• Experience of undertaking/participating in audit
• Experience of teaching and providing academic support to, developing staff and mentoring
• Able to think analytically; anticipating obstacles and thinking ahead and using their initiative to deliver solutions
• More advanced IT Skills e.g. Excel and data analysis
• Use of system one
• Able to plan and organise, setting and maintaining goals and high standards for themselves and others
• Post registration training , education and development in relevant areas
• Chronic disease management qualifications
• Able to drive should we require home visits.

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).