Practice Nurse

Job responsibilities

Cober Valley Health

Job Description Practice Nurse

Job Title: Practice Nurse

Hours: 30 hours per week

Line Manager: Lead Practice Nurse

Accountable to: Practice Manager / Partners

Job Summary

Cober Valley Health is seeking a committed, compassionate and skilled Practice Nurse to join our primary care team. The post holder will deliver high quality, evidence based nursing care across treatment room services and long term condition management, working collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team. The role is integral to providing safe, effective and person centred care, supporting health promotion, disease prevention and ongoing clinical governance within a modern general practice environment.

Mission Statement

Putting patients at the HEART of everything we do by being Honest, Equal, Accountable, Respectful and proud of our Team.

Generic Responsibilities

All staff at Cober Valley Health are required to:

• Promote Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, ensuring patients, families and colleagues are treated with dignity, fairness and respect at all times.
• Maintain high standards of health, safety, environment and fire safety, complying with relevant legislation and practice policies.
• Uphold strict confidentiality, protecting patient information in line with legal and professional requirements.
• Contribute to quality and continuous improvement, identifying opportunities to enhance patient care and service delivery.
• Participate fully in induction, mandatory training and ongoing professional development.
• Work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team, communicating effectively and professionally.
• Adhere to all practice policies, procedures, security requirements and professional conduct standards.
• Take allocated leave responsibly and support team planning.

Primary Responsibilities

The Practice Nurse is responsible for delivering the following core clinical services:

Treatment Room Services

Wound care, dressings, and removal of sutures, clips and staples

Taking, preparing and sending clinical swabs (wound, MRSA, vaginal)

Venepuncture and phlebotomy

ECG recording

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring

Manual observations (blood pressure, pulse, respiratory rate)

Height and weight measurements

Near patient testing (e.g. glucose, INR)

Urinalysis and specimen preparation

Doppler ultrasound measurements

Compression stocking reviews and leg measurements

Intramuscular and subcutaneous injections under PSD (e.g. B12, hormone injections)

Immunisations & Screening

Baby, child and adult immunisations under PGDs

Cervical cytology

Pretravel health advice and vaccination recommendations

Administration of travel vaccinations

Health Promotion

Smoking cessation

Alcohol screening

Weight management

Sexual health advice

Diet and lifestyle education

Ear canal inspection and patient education

Long Term Condition Management

Annual reviews for patients with:

Hypertension

Stroke / TIA

Coronary heart disease

Heart failure

Learning disabilities

Epilepsy

Arthritis

Peripheral vascular disease

Mental health conditions

Chronic kidney disease

Atrial fibrillation

Dementia

Lymphoedema

Clinical Governance & Patient Safety

Weekly INR quality control

Accurate, timely clinical recordkeeping

Strict adherence to infection prevention and control standards

Weekly emergency equipment checks

Full emergency equipment checks every three months (rotational)

Stock & Equipment Management

Dressing stock management

Actioning SystmOne tasks appropriate to role

Weekly vaccine fridge stock checks

Monthly vaccine fridge audits

Monitoring vaccine stock levels and advising on required orders

Management of injectable medication stocks (e.g. B12, hormone injections)

Secondary Responsibilities

Quality Improvement & Service Development

Participation in audits, quality improvement projects and significant event analysis

Supporting the review and implementation of practice policies and protocols

Attendance at practice meetings and contribution to service development

Education, Training & Mentorship

Supervision and mentorship of HCAs, nursing students and junior nurses

Supporting preceptorship and nurse revalidation

Attendance at internal and external training

Identifying learning opportunities for unregistered staff

Operational Duties

Restocking own clinical room

Monthly vaccine fridge cleaning

Additional Information

This job description outlines the principal duties and responsibilities of the Practice Nurse role but is not exhaustive. Duties may evolve in response to service needs, practice development and the post holders professional growth. All staff are expected to be flexible and support the effective running of the practice.

Skills

Essential

• Effective communication skills (written and oral)
• Effective time management (planning and organising)
• Good interpersonal skills
• Problem solving and analytical skills
• Ability to follow clinical policy and procedure
• Strong IT skills

Experience

Essential

• Experience of delivery high quality nursing care
• Experience of working autonomously and within a team

Desirable

• Experience of working in a primary care environment
• Experience of chronic disease management
• Experience of working as a practice nurse
• Experience of quality incentives (for example benchmarking)

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Polite and confident
• Flexible and cooperative
• Motivated, forward thinker
• Effectively able to communicate and understand the needs of the patient
• Forward thinker
• High levels of integrity and loyalty
• Sensitive and empathetic in distressing situations
• Ability to work under pressure
• Committed to ongoing professional development
• Effectively utilise resources
• Punctual and committed to supporting the team effort

Other requirements

Essential

• Flexibility to work outside of core office hours
• Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check
• Meet the requirements and produce evidence for nurse revalidation
• Maintains confidentiality at all times

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Nurse with valid NMC registration
• Evidence of ongoing professional development

Desirable

• Cervical cytology training
• Immunisation training
• Chronic disease management training

Clinical Skills and Competencies

Essential

• Wound care/removal of sutures and staples
• ECGs
• Venepuncture
• Understanding the importance of evidence based practice
• Understand the requirement of PGDs and associated policy
• Ability to record accurate clinical notes
• Ability to work within own scope of practice and understanding when to refer to GPs
• Chaperone procedure
• Blood pressure monitoring

Desirable

• Requesting pathology tests and processing the results, advising patients accordingly
• Near patient testing
• Womens health
• Immunisations (routine, travel and childhood)
• Long term condition reviews
• Travel medicine
• Broad knowledge of clinical governance
• Knowledge of health promotion strategies

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.

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).