Practice Nurse

Job responsibilities

Title:Practice Nurse

Responsible To:Clinical Nurse Lead

Main Purpose of the Post:

To provide and maintain a high standard of professional nursing care in adherence with all Practice protocols / policies and guidelines, and to provide nursing assistance to the GPs and other members of the primary healthcare team. The role of the Practice Nurse needs to be flexible in line with the present changing needs of health service delivery. It is essential that the post-holder will work within her / his own level of competency and expand her/his role in accordance with practice requirements and scope of practice.

Duties & Responsibilities of the Post:

Main Duties:

To assist and perform routine nursing tasks related to patient care as directed and agreed with senior nursing staff and GPs.

To provide essential treatment duties such as routine BP checks, new patient assessments, BMI and lifestyle advice including smoking cessation advice.

To provide holistic assessment of wounds and implement wound care in line with current evidence-based guidelines, inclusive of the treatment of minor traumatic wounds within own level of competency.

To offer advice about childhood and adult immunisations and to ensure vaccines / injections are administered under patient group directives or individual prescription where appropriate.

To undertake the collection of pathological and microbiology specimens including venepuncture, swabs and urine culture in line with local guidelines.

To perform a holistic assessment of patients attending for relevant investigatory procedures such as cervical cytology, ECG, and Dopplers (appropriate training will be given) in line with local guidelines.

To provide general health promotion education, advice on national screening programmes and guide / refer patients to appropriate services or other health professionals as appropriate.

To work independently, supported by the clinical team within the practice, focusing upon supporting patients to be healthy, monitoring of long-term conditions health prevention and reviewing screening activities

To provide appropriate self-care advice for patients presenting with minor illness within own level of competency and referring to a GP where appropriate.

To chaperone and assist patients where appropriate who are being examined by another clinician.

To assist GPs with minor surgery and well women procedures.

To offer a holistic approach to travel health by providing comprehensive advice to patients prior to travel including relevant vaccination within own level of competency.

To provide contraception advice and sexual health guidance, undertaking annual contraceptive reviews and injections in line with practice policies.

To maintain effective infection control measures in line with local guidelines and practice policy.

To be able to recognise and manage anaphylaxis, according to the current UK Resuscitation Council guidelines.

To be able to perform Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and to be able to use correctly Automated Defibrillation following training, according to the current UK Resuscitation Council guidelines.

To ensure safe storage, rotation and disposal of vaccines and medication. To assist in the completion of monthly stock take and support the cost-effective use of disposable items.

To maintain adequate stock within own the treatment room during clinic and assist with the re-stocking of other clinical rooms if required.

To participate in developments within the practice and support QOF requirements.

• To work in accordance with NMC The Code for Nurses and Midwives (2018).
• To ensure that accurate notes of all consultations and treatments are recorded in the patients notes and on computers, as per NMC guidelines.
• To attend and participate in practice meetings as required.
• To be aware of statutory protection procedures including referral and recognition of signs and symptoms of child abuse.
• To be aware of referral mechanisms for mental health issues, family violence, vulnerable adults and addictive behaviours.

To take part in mandatory and internal / external training as requested.

To adhere to and follow all policies and protocols available on the staff intranet and contract.

Confidentiality:

As per both Government legislation and Practice Policies ensure that all confidentiality, data protection and information governance policies and guidelines are followed and strictly adhered to, reporting any infringements to the Operations Office immediately.

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:

• Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines
• Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks
• 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
• Actively reporting of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised
• 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
• Undertaking periodic infection control training (minimum annually)
• Reporting potential risks identified
• Demonstrate due regard for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.
• Reporting potential risks identified.

Equality and Diversity:

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

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

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

Personal/Professional Development:

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

• Participation in an annual staff performance review.
• Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to 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.
• Lead on induction and training of new staff at site
• 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/Information:

The post-holder should recognize the importance of effective communication within the practice and management 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.

Contribution to the Implementation of Services:

The post-holder will:

• 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

Any other delegated duties considered appropriate to the post.

This job description is not intended to be exhaustive, but to indicate the main areas of responsibility. It may be changed after consultation with the post holder. The employee shares with the employer the responsibility for review and modification of duties. Suggestions and discussions are welcome.

Policies and Procedures - the duties and responsibilities of the post will be undertaken in accordance with the policies, procedures and practices of the Practice, which may be amended from time to time. You are required to be flexible and the practice reserves the right to alter such fixed hours as may be considered necessary to ensure the surgery runs smoothly.

The business operates between the hours of 0700 2100 hours Monday to Friday (0800 1300 Saturday), with possible requirement for some future evening and weekend working as the business develops.

Other

Essential

• Ability to work as part of an integrated multi-skilled team
• Flexibility

Desirable

• Car driver / clean licence

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered General Nurse
• Ability to demonstrate commitment to professional development
• Recognised qualification to diploma level or above

Desirable

• Practice Nurse Foundation Course

Experience

Essential

• Primary care experience

Desirable

• Experience of working in large practice or organisation
• Management of chronic diseases
• Experience of diagnosis and treatment of minor injuries
• Evidence of involvement in research and development

Skills

Essential

• Administration of Adult & Child immunisations
• Ability to perform cervical screening
• Involvement in leg ulcer management including dopplers and compression bandaging
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to work without direct supervision and determine own workload priorities
• Able to work under pressure and within a changing environment

Desirable

• Able to demonstrate understanding of modern General Practice

Skills

Essential

• Understanding of practice health needs assessment process
• Knowledge and understanding of current national developments and trends in health care, quality assurance and practice development

Desirable

• Experience of Microsoft office software
• Previous experience of working with SystmOne

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

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