Practice Nurse

Job responsibilities

MAIN DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES OF POST HOLDER

Meeting patients nursing care needs as identified, or where care has been transferred to them by a GP. This will usually be in surgery, but occasional home visits may also be required.

Initiating and maintaining health screening and promotion clinics for identified areas of the practice population, recognising where modification of systems or referral is necessary.

Assess, plan, develop, implement and evaluate treatment programmes for patients whilst promoting health and well-being.

Employ a shared care approach to supporting patients managing long term conditions and chronic diseases. This includes but is not limited to, requesting diagnostic metrics, operate diagnostic equipment, ability to interpret clinical information and provide explanations to patients in a sensitive manner, undertake regular medication reviews within your scope of practice and arrange follow up review suitable to patients and practices needs, using the recall systems.

Clinics include:

- Asthma

- COPD

- Diabetes

- Cardiovascular disease

- Hypertension

- Cervical screening

- Family planning and sexual health

- Menopause management

- Learning Disability Health Assessments

Provide routine treatment in general clinics, including:

- Wound management (simple and complex wounds) including doppler assessment and compression bandaging

- Suture/clip removal

- Venepuncture

- Administering injections

- Childhood vaccinations (routine and unscheduled)

- Travel immunisations and advice

- ECGs

- NHS health checks

- General health screening including height, weight, BP, urinalysis, smoking status, alcohol and lifestyle.

- Knowledge of and ability to explain rationale behind national and local screening programs and promote uptake of screening. Access appropriate resources to promote health literacy and screening information.

- Use of motivational techniques to support lifestyle modifications and behaviour change.

- Effectively communicate with and refer to outside agencies to support all aspects of health management ensuring continuity of care.

Apply infection control measures within the practice according to local and national guidelines.

Support patients and colleagues to adopt evidence-based Infection and Prevention Control (IP&C) measures to prevent the development of health care associated infections in line with the practices health and safety policy and antimicrobial strategy to reduce antimicrobial resistance. This will include:

- Effective hand hygiene following the 5 moments for hand hygiene.

- Applying universal precautions

- Appropriate and safe management of specimens including disposal

- Appropriate waste material segregation and disposal

- Effectively and safely dealing with blood and bodily fluid spillages

- Reporting and management of sharps injuries

To be able to recognise a deteriorating patient and appropriately escalate concern to senior colleagues.

To be competent in managing emergency situations including completion of annual basic life support (BLS) and resuscitation techniques and anaphylaxis.

Maintain contemporaneous and accurate patient records.

Use the practice computer systems for input of information for recall and screening purposes.

Contribute to clinical audit and the setting up and monitoring of standards of care.

Assist in education of others within the clinical setting, including unqualified staff.

Act as assessor and mentor to other staff where necessary including student health care professionals.

Work effectively in the team demonstrating excellent communication skills.

Maintain your own continuous professional registration in line with regulatory body requirements and Practice requirements.

Be available to deal with any patient query that may prove to beyond the ability of the medical receptionist and be aware of limit of own ability.

Ensure that all formal complaints are passed onto the Practice Manager for immediate action.

Have good IT literacy and use the computer and communication systems effectively and professionally.

ADDITIONAL SKILLS REQUIRED

Excellent communication skills written/verbal/listening.

Be a reflective practitioner.

An ability to prioritise workload.

Use available resources effectively.

Ability to make safe clinical decisions, underpinned by current evidence.

Contribute to the development and implementation of new ideas to improve patient care and/or the practice environment.

Contribute to future practice policies and growth.

Have awareness of budgetary constraints and help make cost effective decisions.

*The above is not a complete list of all tasks to be undertaken, but a sample of the type of work you will be asked to undertake.

PROFESSIONAL REGISTRATION

You will be expected to maintain your own annual registration with the NMC.

You will be expected to have up to date knowledge of and practice to the NMC code of professional standards of practice and behaviour and understand the importance of professional accountability.

Qualifications

Essential

• Qualification and experience
• Registered nurse.
• Minimum 2 years post registration experience but will consider newly qualified nurses with primary care experience.
• Willingness to learn and acquire new skills and demonstrate transferable skills.
• Insight and understanding of current issues affecting primary care nursing and the NHS.
• Evidence of appropriate knowledge base.
• Demonstrate an understanding of audit.
• Knowledge of clinical governance.
• Excellent computer skills.
• Awareness of health and safety and IP and C issues.
• Specific Skills
• Good interpersonal skills, both verbal and written.
• Ability to problem solve and make decisions.
• Able to demonstrate personal and professional accountability and autonomy.
• Ability to develop effective working relationships.
• Ability to be reflective, accept criticism and act constructively.
• Be self-motivated.
• Able to be adaptive to work pressures and changing circumstances.
• Good time management skills, punctual, able to manage and prioritise workload.
• Act in a way that recognises peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies and current legislation.
• Respect the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues.
• Physical fitness
• Fitness to carry out safe manual handling duties and dexterity requirements.
• Able to travel between sites using own transport.
• Maintains own health and wellbeing.
• Additional requirements
• ideally, Hold a current and full driving licence and have access to a car.
• Can work within core practice hours: 8am-6pm.
• Is reliable.
• Can be flexible for cover.
• Ability to work a share of Saturday morning clinics.

Desirable

• Qualification and Experience
• Post-registration study in topics allied to general practice and, or chronic disease management qualifications.
• NonMedical prescribing qualification
• Undertaken mentorship qualification (FLAP or equivalent)
• Specific skills
• Willingness to undertake further study.
• Uses initiative
• Additional requirements
• Membership of a professional bodies or interest groups.

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).