Job responsibilities
To provide and maintain a high standard of nursing care for patients together with providing nursing assistance to Doctors and other members of the Practice Team; to include treatment, preventative care, screening and patient education.
Assess, plan, develop, implement, provide and evaluate treatment programmes including, but not limited to:
- Health promotion and well-being plus individual plans for patients with/at risk of a long term condition
- Manage and treat long-term conditions, in line with national and local policies and practice needs
- Review medication for therapeutic effectiveness, in accordance with evidence based practice and national/practice protocols, and work with patients to support adherence to prescribed treatments
- Prioritise health problems, intervening appropriately, to assist the patient in complex, urgent or emergency situations, including initiation of effective emergency care
- Implement and participate in vaccination and immunisation programmes for both adults and children including patients travelling abroad
- Meet the needs of patients presenting for chronic or surgical would management
Communication
- Demonstrate sensitive communication styles to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to treatment
- 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, including those receiving bad news
- Act as an advocate when representing patients and colleagues
- Produce written documents that evidence the contribution of the nursing team to the practice priorities where required 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
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 and others workload in a manner that maintains and promotes quality
- Deliver care as an individual and team according to NSF, NICE guidelines and evidence-based care, assessing effectiveness of care delivery through peer review, benchmarking and formal evaluation and leading on the maintenance of quality governance systems for the nursing team
- Implement and review the application of evidence-based practice in nursing
- Utilise the audit cycle as a means of evaluating the quality of the work of self and the team, implementing improvements where required
- Evaluate patients response to health care provision and the effectiveness of care
- Participate in shared learning across the practice and wider organisation and assess the impact of policy implementation on care delivery
- Work within policies regarding family violence, vulnerable children and adults, substance abuse and addictive behaviour, and refer as appropriate
- Interpret national strategies and policies into local implementation strategies that are aligned to the values and culture of general practice
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 the performance of the duties outlined in this Job Description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, Practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the Practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source 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
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, to 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
- 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
individual performance review, including taking responsibility for
maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development
- 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
- 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
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
NB: This job description outlines the key duties that are expected of
you within the role of Practice Nurse, although it is not an exhaustive list.
It may be amended in line with experience, business requirements and as a
result of any future organisational change
