Advanced Nurse Practitioner

Job responsibilities

Care Management

Communicates confidential & sensitive information to patients, relatives & carers in relation to their condition.

Provide highly specialised care advice beyond the scope of normal Nursing practice e.g. care treatment plans, making referrals as appropriate (including fast track referrals).

Contribute to local & national practice targets clinical remit e.g. QOF, prescribing incentive scheme, National benchmarking.

To monitor & meet care outcomes against standards & recommend or initiate changes as necessary.

Health Improvement

Management of health screening programmes and ensures other team members are aware of health priorities & screening objectives & programmes.

Innovation in practice to meet ongoing demands on the practices delivery of care.

Improve health outcomes for patients by introducing new developments, and can demonstrate them as reports & presentations where appropriate.

Supports practitioners in reporting the practice population to promote health improvement & disease prevention.

Makes referrals to appropriate agencies (statutory & voluntary) where necessary

Providing assessment, screening services, health education advice:

These may include;

o Blood pressure checks

o Urinalysis

o Ear syringing

o Dressings

o Contraception/ fitting contraceptive devices

o Routine immunisations and vaccinations

o Removal of sutures / clips

o First registration checks / health surveillance / general health advice

o Assisting with minor procedures in the treatment room

o Organise and plan the provision of nursing services for the practice to include the delegation of duties to other members of the practice nurse team as appropriate

Administration & professional responsibilities

Produce accurate, contemporaneous & complete records of patient consultation, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures

Participate in the administrative & professional responsibilities of the practice team

Accurate and legible notes of all consultations & treatments are recorded in the patients notes

Ensure clinical systems kept up to date, recording and/or amending accurate details

Ensure appropriate items of service claims are made accurately, reporting any problems to the practice administrator

Ensure accurate completion of all necessary documentation associated with patient healthcare and registration with the practice

Attend and participate in practice meetings as required

Restocking and maintenance of clinical areas and consulting rooms

Training and personal development

Maintain up to date skills and knowledge, maintaining awareness of professional issues at an advanced level.

Training needs will be monitored by yearly appraisal and will be in accordance with practice requirements. Personal development will be encouraged and supported by the practice.

Assess effectiveness of care delivery through self-reflection and peer review, as well as benchmarking and formal evaluation.

Contribute to the identification and assessment of learning needs of staff and other professionals and assist in planning effective programmes of education.

Participate in the education and training of students of all disciplines and the introduction of all members of the practice staff where appropriate.

Develop and maintain an in house nurse-training programme reporting to the practice manager.

Act as a mentor for junior staff, assessing competence against set standards.

Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work and ensure own educational commitment is at least sufficient to maintain revalidation requirements.

Develop and maintain a Personal Learning Plan.

Regularly participate in clinical supervision.

Leadership personal and people development

Act as a clinical leader in the delivery of practice nursing services ensuring that the needs of the patient are a priority

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

Critically evaluate and review innovations and developments that are relevant to the area of work

Work with practice management to ensure sufficient staffing to provide a safe service, and that staff have the appropriate ability, quality and skill-mix to meet current and future service delivery

Take part in recruitment processes where appropriate.

Maintain effective communication and active involvement in the planning and processes of practice-based commissioning or similar initiatives

Promote the role of the advanced nurse practitioner in general practice.

Manage, supervise, co-ordinate and guide the nursing team

To manage the nursing service in participation with the practice manager, ensuring relevant information is disseminated to and from the nursing staff

In participation with the practice manager, carry out yearly appraisals of all the nursing staff and produce a training programme

Ensure adequate nursing cover is provided while within the practice guidelines, keeping the practice manager informed of any problems

Develop and maintain practice policies and protocols for all nursing activity

To be the infection control lead in the practice and ensure all staff are aware of current procedures

To plan, chair and minute management and training meetings for all nurses following the training programme.

Ensure agreed practice audits are carried out

Ensure the practice manager is aware of any matters arising or problems / potential problems

Ensure all surgery-produced nursing leaflets are kept up to date

Produce a six-monthly nursing newsletter for patients

Confidentiality:

In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust practice staff with, or allow us to gather,sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters.

Comply with Legislation with regards to data protection act and ensure confidentiality is maintained at all times.

The post-holder must regard all information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers (as well as information relating to the practice as a business organisation) as strictly confidential

Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality, data protection legislation and the protection of personal and sensitive data, as well as other related healthcare legislation (e.g.the NHS Confidentiality Code of Practice)

Health & Safety:

Comply with practice policies, procedures & clinical guidelines for self and others. This includes (but not limited to):

Identifying, reporting, & correcting health & safety hazards & infection hazards immediately when recognised

Identifying issues and hazards / risks in relation to other work areas within the business

Awareness of national standards of infection control & cleanliness, as well as ownership of infection control & clinically based patient care protocols & implementing them across the practice.

Active observation of current working practices across the practice in relation to infection control, cleanliness & related activities, ensuring that procedures are followed & weaknesses / training needs are identified, escalating issues as appropriate.

Identifying the risks involved in work activities, raising them with appropriate management & managing those risks across clinical & patient processes.

Safe management of sharps procedures, including training, use, storage & disposal

Keeping own work areas and general / patient areas generally clean, sterile, assuming responsibility in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness across the business in consultation (where appropriate) with other managers

Demonstrate due regard for safeguarding & promoting the welfare of children.

Routine management of own team / team areas, & maintenance of work space standards;

o Waste management, including collection, handling, segregation, container management, storage and collection

o Spillage control procedures, management & training

o Decontamination control procedures, management and training, & equipment maintenance

Equality and Diversity:

Support the equality, diversity & rights of patients, carers & colleagues:

Acting in a way that recognises the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures & policies, & current legislation

Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs & beliefs of patients, carers & colleagues

Identify patterns of discrimination & take action to overcome this & promote diversity& equality of opportunity.

Behaving in a manner that is welcoming to & of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.

Support people who need assistance in exercising their rights.

Quality:

Alert other team members to issues of quality & risk

Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision

Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own & team activities & making suggestions on ways to improve & enhance the teams performance

Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs

Effectively manage own time, workload & resources

Communication:

Communicate effectively with other team members

Communicate effectively with patients & carers

Recognise peoples needs for alternative methods of communication & respond accordingly

Ensure awareness of sources of support & guidance (e.g. PALS) & provide information in an acceptable format to all patients, recognising any difficulties & referring where appropriate.

Contribution to the implementation of services:

Apply practice policies, standards & guidance

Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards & guidelines will affect own work

Participate in audit where appropriate

Qualifications

Essential

• RGN / RN With current NMC registration.
• MSc or BSc, Nurse Practitioner degree.
• Independent prescriber.
• Completed Nurse Practitioner (Primary Care) Post Graduate Diploma level.

Desirable

• Long term conditions qualification.

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Autonomous practitioner who can work independently and in partnership with other healthcare professionals.
• High level of clinical skills and competency relevant to the role.
• Works effectively independently and as a member of a team.
• Flexible approach to meet service needs and ensure a stakeholder focused
• response.
• Self-motivated and proactive.
• Continued commitment to improve skills and ability in new areas of work.
• Able to undertake the demands of the post with reasonable adjustments if required.
• Able to work across several sites and travel.

Desirable

• Understanding of National Nursing strategy and implications for Nursing.
• Accountability of own role and other roles in a nurse-led service.

Experience

Essential

• Minimum of 2 years experience post-registration experience of working in primary / community / acute health care setting.
• Able to analyse and interpret prescribing data.
• Able to manage acute illnesses, long term conditions and minor ailments.
• Refer patients independently as appropriate.
• Interprets a range of diagnostic tests and routine clinical procedures.
• Understanding and experience of inter-agency working across health
• groups and networks.
• Has provided effective health education and health promotion to patients presenting with a range of health needs.
• Has a planned and organised approach with an ability to prioritise their
• own workload to meet strict deadlines.
• Excellent understanding of data protection and confidentiality issues.
• Able to think analytically; anticipating obstacles and thinking ahead; using analytical techniques to come up with solutions.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with team members,
• patients, carers, and other healthcare professionals whilst recognising
• peoples needs for alternative methods of communication.
• Has attention to detail, able to work accurately, identifying errors quickly
• and easily.
• Experience of Clinical Governance and risk assessment.
• Committed to own continuing personal development and an ability to
• support others to develop and progress.

Desirable

• Experience of working in Primary Care or General Practice.
• Experience of using SystmOne.
• Nurse led Triage.
• Experience of case management.

Physical Requirements

Essential

• Commit to a DBS Check.

Desirable

• UK Driving Licence.

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).