District Nurse Student

Job responsibilities

2. Job Purpose

To work towards gaining the standards of proficiency for entry to the

NMC register/recordable for Specialist Community Practitioner: District Nursing

To gain the Specialist Community Practitioner qualification through working in a learning

environment which will enable the student to develop knowledge, skills

and competencies to take on the role of a qualified Specialist

Community Practitioner within a defined pathway.

To gain the knowledge and skills and competence required in order to

exercise higher levels of judgment, discretion and decision making in

clinical care focusing on four broad areas:

Clinical practice

Community Engagement

Clinical practice development

Leadership in clinical practice

The post of Specialist Community Practitioner Sponsorship Student is a

development post building on existing knowledge, skills and

competencies to achieve a higher level of practice resulting in an

academic qualification as well as a recordable/registerable qualification

with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

4. Key Result Areas

The fundamental responsibilities of the post holder are to attain the

academic credentials and the clinical skills required to practice as a NMC

registered Specialist Community Public Health Nurse on a defined pathway.

These are summarised below:

To fulfil the requirements of the Specialist Community Practitioner

programme by attending university course dates and practice placement

days in accordance with University regulations

To work with the Specialist Community Practice Teacher to develop the

skills and competencies to achieve NMC Registration Standards for

Specialist Community Practice

With the support of the Specialist Community Practice Teacher to link

the theoretical knowledge gained through the university programme to

the practice situation

To demonstrate an understanding of current and emerging National,

Regional and local healthcare legislation, policies and guidelines as

they pertain to chosen pathway

To develop/build on skills of caseload and team leadership and

management

To work within University Regulations pertaining to academic work and

student conduct

To work within employing organisation policies as they pertain to the

relevant clinical setting

To work within employing organisation policies relating to employee

responsibilities.

Knowledge

Essential

• Successfully completed a level 2 research module or be able to demonstrate evidence and knowledge of research theory and practice

Other factors

Essential

• Able to travel across a range of community settings independently
• Able to drive
• Access to a car for business use

Experience

Essential

• 2 years post registration experience in a community setting
• Experience of working within multi-disciplinary teams
• Evidence of working without direct supervision and managing own workload
• Experience of managing staff within a team
• Teaching and supporting pre-registration students

Desirable

• Use of different electronic record systems and databases
• Evidence of involvement in the management of difficult situations and conflict resolution

Personal qualities

Essential

• Excellent communication skills both written and verbal
• Caring and polite
• Adaptable

Qualifications

Essential

• DipHE (or above) qualification equivalent to 120 credits at level 5 (of the Higher Education Credit Framework for England)
• For the post graduate diploma route a 2:1 Honours degree is necessary
• Practice Assessor Module or equivalent
• Literacy and Numeracy GCSE C or above (or equivalent)
• NMC registered Adult branch

Desirable

• Educated to degree level

Skills and abilities

Essential

• Academic ability to study independently at degree or postgraduate level
• Sufficient IT skill to be able to use an electronic patient record system
• Able to use mobile electronic devices to the standard required
• Computer literate. Internet, email, Excel, patient systems spreadsheets, Word etc.
• Ability to organise, plan and prioritise own clinical caseload
• Excellent oral & written communication skills
• Ability to build effective team working relationships

Desirable

• Knowledge of assessment of health needs of the local Population
• Background knowledge of current policy relating to public health and primary care
• Ability to use databases for data input and analysis

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).