Job responsibilities
The post holder is responsible for the delivery of general practice
nursing to the whole practice population. The focus of the role is both the
delivery of evidence-based practice for patients presenting with a long term
condition, and the provision of preventative health care to the practice
population. As an autonomous practitioner the nurse is responsible for the care
delivered, demonstrating critical thinking and skills in clinical
decision-making in the management of patients. They will work collaboratively
within the general practice team to meet the needs of patients, support the
delivery of policy and procedures, and provide nurse leadership as required.
Key responsibilities
Clinical practice
- Assess,
plan, develop, implement and evaluate treatment programmes that promote
health and well-being
- Assess,
plan, implement and evaluate individual treatment plans for patients with
a known long-term condition
- Proactively
identify, diagnose and manage treatment plans for patients at risk of
developing a long-term condition as appropriate
- Work
with other health care professionals to diagnose, monitor, manage and
treat long-term conditions, including non-drug-based treatment methods
using a management plan, and in line with national and local policies and
practice needs
- Review
medication for therapeutic effectiveness, appropriate to patient needs and
in accordance with evidence-based practice and national and practice protocols
- Work
with patients in order to support adherence to prescribed treatments
- Provide
information and advice on prescribed or over-the-counter medication on
medication regimens, side-effects and interactions
- Prioritise
health problems and intervene appropriately to assist the patient in
complex, urgent or emergency situations, including initiation of effective
emergency care
- Support
patients to adopt health promotion strategies that promote patients to
live healthily, and apply principles of self-care
- Support
and manage health needs of women presenting for family planning and
cervical cytology consultations
- Recognise,
assess and refer patients presenting with mental health needs in
accordance with the NSF for Mental Health
- Implement
and participate in vaccination and immunisation programmes for both adults
and children
- Advise,
support and administer vaccinations where appropriate for patients
travelling abroad
- Promote
and deliver evidence-based care for patients presenting with aural
conditions
- Meet the needs of patients presenting for
opportunistic wound care
Communication
- Demonstrate
sensitive communication styles to ensure patients are fully informed and
consent to treatment
- Communicate
with and support patients receiving bad news
- 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
- Estimate
and maintain effective communication with individuals and groups within
the practice environment and with external stakeholders
- Act as an advocate when representing patients
and colleagues
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 workload in a manner that maintains and promotes
quality
- Deliver
care according to NSF, NICE guidelines and evidence-based care
- Assess
effectiveness of care delivery through self and peer review, benchmarking
and formal evaluation
- Participate
in the maintenance of quality governance systems and processes across the
practice
- Utilise
the audit cycle as a means of evaluating the quality of the work of self
and the team, implementing improvements where required
- Collaborate
on improving the quality of health care in partnership with other clinical
teams, 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
- Participate
in the management and review of patient complaints, and identify learning
from clinical incidents and near-miss events using a structured framework
(eg root-cause analysis)
- Assess
the impact of policy implementation on care delivery
- 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 regarding family
violence, vulnerable adults, substance abuse and addictive behaviour, and
refer as appropriate
Leadership personal and people development
- Take
responsibility for own development learning and performance including
participating in clinical supervision and acting as a positive role model
- Support
the development of others in order to maximise potential
- Actively
promote the workplace as a learning environment, encouraging everyone to
learn from each other and from external good practice
- Encourage
others to make realistic self-assessment of their application of knowledge
and skills, challenging any complacency and actions that are not in the
interest of the public and/or users of services
- Act
as a clinical leader in the delivery of GPN services to patients, ensuring
that the needs of the patient are the priority
- Participate
in planning and implementing changes within the area of care and
responsibility
- Work
with practice management to ensure sufficient staff of appropriate
ability, quality and skill-mix are available to meet current and future service
delivery
- Contribute
and participate in the development of local guidelines, protocols and
standards
- Participate
in the planning and engagement of practice-based commissioning or similar
initiatives
- Ensure
awareness of sources of support and guidance (eg PALS), and provide
information in an acceptable format to all patients, recognising any
difficulties and referring where appropriate
- Promote the role of the senior GPN in the
provision of care
Team working
- Understand
own role and scope, 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
assessing competence
- Ensure
clear referral mechanisms are in place to meet patient need
- Prioritise
own workload and ensure effective time-management strategies are embedded
within the culture of the team
- 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
- Oversee
the monitoring, stock control and documentation of controlled drug usage
according to legal requirements
- Support
members of the nursing team to undertake mandatory and statutory training
requirements
- 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 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
the responsibility of self and others 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
- Act
as mentor to students, assessing competence against set standards as
requested and if appropriately qualified
- Disseminate
learning and information gained to other team members in order to share
good practice and inform others about current and future developments
- Assess
own learning needs and undertake learning as appropriate
- Make
effective use of learning opportunities within and outside the workplace,
evaluating their effectiveness and feeding back relevant information
- Provide an educational role to patients,
carers, families and colleagues in an environment that facilitates
learning
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 the observance of equality and diversity good practice
- 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