Job responsibilities
Job Purpose & Summary
The post holder is a qualified Practitioner who, acting within their professional boundaries, will provide care for the presenting patient from initial history taking, clinical assessment, diagnosis, treatment and evaluation of care. They will demonstrate safe, clinical decision-making and expert care, including assessment and diagnostic skills, for patients within the Surgery. The post holder will demonstrate critical thinking in the clinical decision-making process. They will work collaboratively with the general practice team to meet the needs of patients, supporting the delivery of policy and procedures, and supporting the training of GP Registrars and other nursing staff as required.
Key responsibilities
- Assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate treatment/interventions and care for patients presenting with an undifferentiated diagnosis
- Clinically examine and assess patient needs from a physiological and psychological perspective and plan clinical care accordingly
- Assess, diagnosis, plan, implement and evaluate interventions/treatments for patients
- Diagnose and manage both acute and chronic conditions, integrating both drug-and non-drug- based treatment methods into a management plan
- Prescribe and review medication for therapeutic effectiveness, appropriate to patient needs and in accordance with evidence-based practice and national and practice protocols, and within scope of practice. (Dependent on Practitioner)
- Work with patients in order to support compliance with and 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 healthy lifestyles, and apply principles of self-care
- Assess, identify and refer patients presenting with mental health needs in accordance with the NSF for Mental Health
- Promote and deliver evidence-based care for patients presenting with aural conditions
- Carrying out consultations via various methods including telephone triage, face to face, video consultations and in some cases; home visits.
Communication
- Utilise and demonstrate sensitive communication styles, to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to treatment
- Communicate with and support patients who are 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
- Maintain effective communication within the practice environment and with other appropriate services outside of the Practice
- Act as an advocate for patients and colleagues
- 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
Delivering a quality service
- Recognise and work within own competence and professional code of conduct as regulated by their Professional Body
- 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
- Initiate and participate in the maintenance of quality governance systems and processes across the Practice and its activities
- Utilise the audit cycle as a means of evaluating the quality of the work of self and the team, implementing improvements where required
- In partnership with other clinical teams within the Practice, collaborate on improving the quality of health care responding to local and national policies and initiatives as appropriate
- Evaluate patients response to health care provision and the effectiveness of care
- Support and participate in shared learning within the practice as part of the Practice Based Learning Programme (TARGET)
- Use a structured framework to manage, review and identify learning from patient complaints, clinical incidents and near-miss events as part of the Practices current system
- Assess the impact of policy implementation on care delivery
- Understand and apply legal issues that support the identification of vulnerable and abused children and adults, and be aware of statutory child/vulnerable patients health procedures and local guidance
- Have skills and knowledge regarding domestic violence, vulnerable adults, substance abuse and addictive behaviour. Provide guidance and support to ensure appropriate referral if required for the patient
Personal and people development
- Take responsibility for own learning and performance including participating in clinical supervision and acting as a positive role model
- Evidence of preparation for re-validation
- Support staff development 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 or actions that are not in the interest of the public and/or users of services
- Critically evaluate and review innovations and developments that are relevant to the area of work
- Enlist support and influence decision-makers in order to bring about new developments in the provision of services
- Ensure and abide by the support structures in place for the smooth running of the practice
- Take a lead role in planning and implementing changes within the area of care and responsibility in relation to the post
- Work with the Clinical leads and practice management in the development and implementation of the role and service
- Contribute to the development of Practice guidelines, protocols and standards
- 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
- Work within the referral mechanisms to meet patient need
- Prioritise own workload and ensure effective time-management
- Work effectively with others to clearly define values, direction and policies impacting upon care delivery in this role
- Discuss, highlight and work with the team to create opportunities to improve patient care
- To be responsible for self and others in relation to managing risk, health and safety and to work within the polices and procedures set by Greyfriars Surgery
- Manage and assess risk within the areas of direct responsibility and advise the practice management as required
Managing information
- Use technology and appropriate software as an aid to management in planning, implementation and monitoring of care, presenting and communicating information
- To be fully conversant with the Practice clinical system (Systm One)
- Review and process data using accurate SNOMED/Read codes in order to ensure easy and accurate information retrieval for monitoring and audit processes
- To comply with the Connecting for Health IM&T regulations and the standards contained within the Greyfriars IM&T accreditation status
- To participate in Information Governance/GDPR training as required
Learning and development
- Disseminate learning and information gained to other team members in order to share good practice and inform others about current and future developments (eg courses and conferences) via the Practice Based Learning Programme (TARGET)
- As part of the appraisal process assess own learning needs and undertake learning as appropriate
- Provide an educational role to patients, carers, families and colleagues in an environment that facilitates learningEquality and diversity
- To comply with the Practice Equality and Diversity statement and policiesADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS - PERTINENT TO POST HOLDER Clinical Nurse Support for Chronic Disease Management:To work alongside the lead Nurses for chronic diseases to ensure the delivery of best practice for those registered patients, whilst developing and supporting General Practice Nursing duties
