Practice Nurse

Job responsibilities

Clinical practice

• Assess, plan, develop, implement and evaluate individual plans of care to promote health and well-being, and prevent adverse effects on health and well-being
• Identify and manage as appropriate, treatment plans for patients at risk of developing a long-term condition
• Identify and manage as appropriate, treatment plans for patients with a current acute health concerns
• Prioritise health problems and intervene appropriately to assist the patient in complex, urgent or emergency situations, including initiation of effective emergency care and referral on when appropriate
• Support patients to adopt health promotion strategies that encourage patients to live healthily, and apply principles of self-care, including taking opportunities to promote health and wellbeing wherever they arise
• Provide information and advice on prescribed or over-the-counter medication on medication regimens, side effects and interactions
• Support and advise women requesting information relating to family planning needs and those presenting for cervical cytology consultations
• Recognise, assess and refer patients presenting with mental health
• Implement and participate in vaccination and immunisation programmes for both adults and children- including vaccinations for those travelling abroad

Communication

• Utilise and demonstrate sensitive communication styles, to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to treatment- recognising the need for alternative methods of communication to overcome different levels of understanding, cultural background and preferred ways of communicating
• Communicate with and effectively support patients and their carers who are receiving potentially distressing information
• Utilise communication skills to support patients to adhere to prescribed treatment regimens
• Estimate and maintain effective communication with individuals and groups within the practice environment external stakeholders
• Act as an advocate when representing the patients and colleagues viewpoints to others

Delivering a quality service

• Recognise and work within own competence and professional code of conduct as regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
• Produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete records of patient consultation, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures
• Prioritise, organise and manage own workload in a manner that maintains and promotes quality
• Deliver care according to all appropriate guidelines including the NSF and the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines and evidence-based care
• Assess effectiveness of care delivery through self and peer review, benchmarking and formal evaluation, including NMC revalidation
• Participate in the maintenance of quality governance systems and processes across the organisation and its activities
• Utilise the audit cycle as a means of evaluating the quality of the work of self and the team, implementing improvements where required
• In partnership with other clinical teams, collaborate on improving the quality of health care, responding to local and national policies and initiatives as appropriate
• Evaluate the patients response to health care provision and the effectiveness of care
• Support and participate in shared learning across the practice and wider organisation by participating in the management, review and identify learning from patient complaints, clinical incidents and near-miss events
• Participate in the performance monitoring review of the team, providing feedback as appropriate
• 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 relating to domestic violence, vulnerable adults, substance abuse and addictive behaviour, and refer as appropriate

Team working

• Understand own role and scope in the organisation and identify how this may develop over time
• Work as an effective and responsible team member, supporting others and exploring the mechanisms to develop new ways of working
• Delegate clearly and appropriately, adopting the principles of safe practice and assessment of competence of those taking on delegated duties
• Ensure clear understanding and utilisation of referral mechanisms within the practice
• Accept delegation from other nurses, prioritise own workload and ensure effective time-management strategies are embedded in own practice
• Work effectively with others to clearly define values, direction and policies impacting upon care delivery Participate in team activities that create opportunities to improve patient care
• 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
• Ensure safe storage, rotation and disposal of vaccines and drugs is undertaken. Where appropriate, oversee the monitoring, stock control and documentation of controlled drug usage according to legal requirements
• Undertake mandatory and statutory training
• 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

Utilising information

• Use technology as an aid to management in planning, implementation and monitoring, presenting and communicating information
• Review and process data using accurate Read codes about patients in order to ensure easy and accurate retrieval for monitoring and audit processes
• Manage information searches using the internet and local library databases, for example, the retrieval of relevant information for patients on their condition
• Understand own and others responsibility to the individual organisation regarding the Freedom of Information Act
• Collate, analyse and present clinical data and information to the team using appropriate charts and/or graphs to enhance care

Learning and development

• Take responsibility for ones own learning, and identify all appropriate opportunities for professional development
• Disseminate learning and information gained to other team members in order to share good practice and inform others about current and future developments
• Provide an educational role to patients, carers, families and colleagues in an environment that facilitates learning
• When appropriate, undertake learning and development to enable to the effective teaching and assessment in practice of the next generation of healthcare professionals

Equality and diversity

• Identify patterns of discrimination, take action to overcome this, and promote diversity and quality of opportunity
• Enable others to promote equality and diversity in a non-discriminatory culture
• Support people who need assistance in exercising their rights
• Monitor and evaluate adherence to local chaperoning policies
• Act as a role model in good practice relating to equality and diversity
• Accept the rights of individuals to choose their care providers participate in care and refuse care. Assist patients from marginalised groups to access quality care

Experience

Essential

• Working Interprofessionally
• Experience of multi-skilled approach to Chronic Disease Management
• Using electronic healthcare records systems

Desirable

• Having worked with other members of the Primary Care Team (Community Pharmacists, Dieticians etc.)
• Minor illness management
• Triage in healthcare
• Knowledge and understanding of current national developments and -trends in health care

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Nurse (with a current NMC PIN or one pending)

Knowledge

Essential

• Wellbeing and Health Promotion
• Awareness of the role of community nursing overall
• Knowledge of quality assurance processes

Desirable

• Understanding of the General Practice Environment
• Knowledge of the audit process in healthcare
• Awareness of issues across the wider health economy

Interests

Essential

• Developing enhanced and additional skills
• The wellbeing of the local community

Skills

Essential

• Able to work alone without direct supervision when appropriate.
• Able to undertake and report on autonomous decisions taken in practice.
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Excellent communication skills
• IT skills
• Time Management
• Problem solving

Desirable

• Additional skills in areas key to General Practice, e.g., Phlebotomy, immunisation and vaccination, wound management, health screening, travel health advice, diabetes, respiratory;

Other

Essential

• COMPETENCE
• You are responsible for limiting your actions to those which you feel competent to undertake. If you have any doubts about your competence during the course of your duties, you should immediately speak to your Line Manager in the first instance.
• REGISTERED HEALTH PROFESSIONAL
• All employees who are required to register with a professional body, to enable them to practice within their profession, are required to comply with their code of conduct and requirements of their professional registration.
• SUPERVISION
• Where the appropriate professional organisation details a requirement in relation to supervision, it is the responsibility of the post holder to ensure compliance with this requirement. If you are in any doubt about the existence of such a requirement, in the first instance advice should be sought from the Nurse Manager.
• RISK MANAGEMENT
• It is a standard element of the role and responsibility of all staff working in the NHS that they fulfil a proactive role towards the management of risk in all of their actions.
• This entails the risk assessment of all situations, the taking of appropriate actions and reporting of all incidents, near misses and hazards.
• RECORDS MANAGEMENT
• As an employee of the practice, you are legally responsible for all records that you gather, create or use as part of your work within the organisation (including patient health, financial, personal and administrative), whether paper based or on computer. All such records are considered public records, and you have a legal duty of confidence to service users (even after an employee has left the organisation). You should consult the Practice Manager if you have any doubt as to the correct management of records with which you work.
• HEALTH AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS
• All employees have a statutory duty of care for their own personal safety and that of others who may be affected by their acts or omissions. Employees are required to co-operate with management to enable the practice to meet its own legal duties and to report any hazardous situations or defective equipment.
• FLEXIBILITY STATEMENT
• The content of this Job Description represents an outline of the post only and is therefore not a precise catalogue of duties and responsibilities. The Job Description is therefore intended to be flexible and is subject to review and amendment in the light of changing circumstances, following consultation with the post holder.
• CONFIDENTIALITY
• All employees of are required to maintain the confidentiality of members of the public and members of staff in accordance with the appropriate policies and UK law.
• EQUALITY
• The Employer will take all practicable steps to ensure that staff are recruited, managed, developed, promoted, and rewarded on merit and that equal opportunities are given to all staff. Each employee is responsible for their own professional and personal behaviour and there is a requirement of all staff to conduct themselves in a manner which does not cause offence to any another person.

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Excellent team player
• Ability to work under pressure and to deadlines
• Flexible approach
• Self-motivated
• Ability to work core hours

Desirable

• Accurate and thorough approach
• Strong appreciation of customer service skills
• Strong work ethic
• Positive role model
• Ability to work flexibly to provide cover

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).