Practice Nurse

Job responsibilities

The following are the core responsibilities of the practice nurse. There may be on occasion a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be dependent on factors such as workload and staffing levels:

a. Develop, implement and embed health promotion and well-being programmes

b. Implement and evaluate individual treatment plans for chronic disease patients

c. Identify, manage and support patients at risk of developing long-term conditions, preventing adverse effects on patients health

d. Provide routine nursing care to patients as required in accordance with clinical-based evidence, NICE and the NSF

e. Any quality based local specifications, e.g. Manchester Standards

f. Provide wound care (ulcer/Doppler etc.) to patients

g. Provide travel medicine services

h. Request pathology services as necessary

i. Process pathology results as required

j. Provide chronic disease clinics, delivering patient care as necessary, referring patients to secondary/specialist care as required

k. Maintain accurate clinical records in conjunction with extant legislation

l. Ensure read codes are used effectively

m. Maintain chronic disease registers

n. Develop, implement and embed well woman clinics

o. Chaperone patients where necessary

p. Prioritise health issues and intervene appropriately

q. Support the team in dealing with clinical emergencies

r. Recognise, assess and refer patients presenting with mental health needs

s. Implement vaccination programmes for adults and children

t. Support patients in the use of their prescribed medicines or over-the-counter medicines (within own scope of practice)

u. Liaise with external services/agencies to ensure the patient is supported appropriately (vulnerable patients etc.)

v. Delegate clinical responsibilities appropriately (ensuring safe practice and that the task is within the scope of practice of the individual)

w. Support the clinical team with all safeguarding matters, in accordance with local and national policies

x. Understand practice and local policies for substance abuse and addictive behaviour, referring patients appropriately

y. Deliver opportunistic health promotion where appropriate

Secondary responsibilities

In addition to the primary responsibilities, the practice nurse may be requested to:

a. Act as the audit lead, effectively utilising the audit cycle

b. Monitor and ensure the safe storage, rotation and disposal of medicaments

c. Support junior members of the nursing team, providing guidance when necessary

d. Participate in local initiatives to enhance service delivery and patient care

e. Support and participate in shared learning within the practice

f. Continually review clinical practices, responding to national policies and initiatives where appropriate

g. Participate in the review of significant and near-miss events applying a structured approach, i.e. root cause analysis (RCA).

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Nurse

Desirable

• Postgraduate diploma or degree (Primary Care)

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working in a primary care environment
• Experience of working as a practice nurse
• Experience of chronic disease management

Knowledge, skills & experience

Essential

• Wound care/removal of sutures and staples
• ECGs
• Venepuncture
• New patient medicals
• Chaperone procedure
• Requesting pathology tests and processing the results, advising patients accordingly
• Travel medicine
• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Asthma
• Spirometry
• CHD
• Immunisations (routine, childhood and travel)
• Womens health (Cervical cytology, contraception etc.)
• Understands the importance of evidence-based practice
• Broad knowledge of clinical governance
• Ability to record accurate clinical notes
• Ability to work within own scope of practice and to understand when to refer to GPs
• Knowledge of public health issues in the local area
• Awareness of issues within the wider health arena
• Knowledge of health promotion strategies
• Understands the requirement for PGDs and associated policy
• Personal Qualities
• Polite and confident
• Flexible and cooperative
• Motivated, forward thinker
• Problem solver with the ability to process information accurately and effectively, interpreting data as required
• High levels of integrity and loyalty
• Sensitive and empathetic in distressing situations
• Ability to work under pressure/in stressful situations
• Able to communicate effectively and understand the needs of the patient
• Commitment to ongoing professional development
• Effectively utilises resources
• Punctual and committed to supporting the team effort
• Other requirements
• Flexibility to work outside core office hours
• Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check
• Occupational Health clearance
• NMC registration
• Skills
• Excellent communication skills (written and oral)
• Strong IT skills
• Clear, polite telephone manner
• Competent in the use of Office and Outlook
• EMIS
• Effective time management (planning and organising)
• Ability to work as a team member and autonomously
• Good interpersonal skills
• Problem-solving and analytical skills
• Ability to follow clinical policy and procedure

Desirable

• Knowledge of public health issues in the local area
• Awareness of issues within the wider health arena
• Experience with audit and able to lead audit programmes
• Experience with clinical risk management

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).