Job responsibilities
The
post holder is an experienced nurse 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 general practice. 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.
Clinical
Practice
Assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate
treatment/interventions and care for patients presenting with an
undifferentiated diagnosis.
Assess, diagnose, plan, and manage treatment plans
for patients with complex needs.
Proactively identify, diagnose and manage
treatment plans for patients at risk of developing a long-term condition (as
appropriate)
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
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.
Promote and deliver evidence-based care for
patients presenting with all conditions
Undertake minor surgery as appropriate to
competence
Communication
Utilise and 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
Maintain effective communication within the
practice environment and with external stakeholders
Act as an advocate for patients and colleagues
Ensure awareness of sources of support and
guidance (e.g. 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 the NMC
Produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete
records of patient consultation, consistent with legislation, policies and
procedures
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 organisation and its
activities
In partnership with other clinical teams,
collaborate on improving the quality of health care responding to local and
national policies and initiatives as appropriate
Support and participate in shared learning across
the practice and wider organisation
Use a structured framework (e.g. root-cause
analysis) to manage, review and identify learning from patient complaints,
clinical incidents and near-miss events
Assess the impact of policy implementation on care
delivery
Monitor and develop the performance of the GPN
team in accordance with local policies
Approve the performance of the team, providing
feedback as appropriate
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
Ensure the whole team have skills and knowledge
regarding domestic violence, vulnerable adults, substance abuse and addictive
behaviour. Provide guidance and support to ensure appropriate referral if
required.
Leadership-
personal and people development
Take responsibility for own learning and
performance including participating in clinical supervision and acting as a
positive role model
Support staff development in order to maximise
potential, be actively involved in staff appraisal
Actively promote the workplace as a learning
environment, encouraging everyone to learn from each other and from external
good practice
Critically evaluate and review innovations and
developments that are relevant to the area of work
Lead the Nursing team and ensure support
structures are 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
Contribute to the development of local guidelines,
protocols and standards
Promote the role of the Nurse Practitioner in
general practice
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 assessment of competence
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
Discuss, highlight and work with the team to
create opportunities to improve patient care
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 appropriate supervision of safe storage,
rotation and disposal of vaccines and drugs.
Apply infection-control measures within the
practice according to local and national guidelines
Interpret national strategies and policies into
local implementation strategies that are aligned to the values and culture of
general practice.
Managing
information
Review and process data using accurate Read codes
in order to ensure easy and accurate information retrieval for monitoring and
audit processes
Manage information searches using the internet and
local library databases
Understand responsibility of self and others to
the practice and primary care trust regarding the Freedom and Information Act
Collate, analyse and present clinical data and
information to the team
Learning and
Development
Undertake mentorship for more junior staff,
assessing competence against set standards
Disseminate learning and information gained to
other team members in order to share
good practice and inform others about current and future developments (e.g.
courses and conferences)
Assess own learning needs and undertake in
learning where appropriate
Provide an educational role to patients, carers,
families and colleagues in an environment that facilitates learning
Equality and
Diversity
Identify patterns of discrimination and take
action to overcome this and promote diversity and equality of opportunity
Enable others to promote equality and
diversity in a non-discriminatory
culture
Support people who need assistance 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
