Job responsibilities
Job
Description
Title: General Practice Nurse (GPN)
Hours of duty: Full/Part time
REPORTS TO: GP
PARTNERS (Clinically)
PRACTICE MANAGER (Administratively)
Job summary
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
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.
Leading all aspects of infection-control and application
of practice protocols related to this area of Health and safety .
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.
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.
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 a mentor for more junior staff and students,
assessing competence against set standards as requested.
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.
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.