Practice Nurse

Job responsibilities

The post holder is responsible for the delivery of general practice nursing to the whole practice population. The focus of the role is a) the delivery of evidence-based practice for patients presenting with long term conditions and b) the provision of preventative health care to the practice population and acting within their professional boundaries. Scope and purpose of the role:

To deliver a high standard of patient care, as part of the multi-professional team, utilising clinical skills grounded in contemporaneous evidence

To manage a clinical caseload, dealing with presenting patients needs in a primary care setting

To provide care for those with chronic diseases, including planning, management and appropriate follow-up

Toengage in and develop nursing services alongside the nursing team and partners

Key responsibilities

Assess, plan, implement and evaluate treatment/management/interventions and care for patients with chronic disease and long term conditions.

Instigate necessary diagnostic tests and investigations in conjunction with multi-professional team.

Assess patient needs from a holistic view, including physical and psychosocial needs and plan care accordingly

Work alongside other health care professionals to identify, diagnose, monitor and manage treatment plans for patients at risk of developing long-term conditions as appropriate

Review medication for therapeutic effectiveness, appropriate to patient needs and in accordance with evidence-based practice, national, local and practice protocols and formularies

Work with patients and their carers in order to support compliance with and adherence to management plans

Promote health and well-being through the use of health promotion, health education, screening and therapeutic communication skills

Implement and participate in vaccination an immunisation programmes for both adults and children

Advise patients with general travel health advice, support and administer vaccinations where appropriate for patients travelling abroad

Support and manage patients presenting for wound care, in accordance with evidence-based practice, national, local and practice protocols and formularies

Communication:

Utilise and demonstrate appropriate communication skills to ensure patients are fully informed and are able to consent to treatment

Communicate effectively with patients and carers, recognising the need for alternative methods of communication and taking into account cultural background, preferred method of communication and different levels of understanding

Communicate effectively with members of the healthcare team, including external agencies

Attend and contribute to practice meetings

Professional and Quality Role:

Recognise and work within own competence and current professional code of conduct as regulated by the NMC

Maintain professional registration

Recognize ones own limitations and be willing to ask for help

Contribute to the practice achieving quality targets in order to achieve high standards of patient care and service delivery

Prioritise, organize and manage own workload in a manner that maintains and promotes quality

Deliver care in conjunction with the multi-professional team according to NICE guidelines and current evidence

Participate in continuing professional development opportunities, as agreed in annual appraisals, to ensure that competence in all aspects of the role is maintained and in line with the practice development and that of affiliated network activity

Keep accurate, contemporaneous and complete records of all patient interactions, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures

Monitor effectiveness of their own clinical practice through quality assurance strategies such as audit and peer review

Work collaboratively within and external to the practice, including the local network to assist in providing new and innovative systems of providing patient care, including health and wellbeing, as well as assisting in evaluating such initiatives

Support and participate in shared learning across the practice and wider organisation, including participation in significant event, complaints and safeguarding meetings

Leadership:

Act as an advocate in the delivery of Practice Nurse services to patients, ensuring that the needs of the patient are the priority

Take responsibility for own development learning and performance including participating in clinical supervision and acting as a positive role mode

Participate in planning and implementing changes within the area of care and responsibility

Contribute and participate in the development of local guidelines, protocols and standards

Provide nursing representation in the local network, providing guidance and education to network practices as required, particularly in relation to health and wellbeing

Teamworking Role:

Understand own role and scope and how this may develop over time

Contribute to the development of the nursing team

Willingness to provide ideas for practice development

Participate in supervision and mentoring of junior staff, GP registrars, medical/nursing students and administrative staff

Encourage and develop teamwork within the practice

Work alongside community partners to provide holistic patient care and wellbeing services

Follow agreed practice referral mechanisms to ensure patient care and safety

Participate in the development of clinical protocols, guidelines and standards in conjunction with the healthcare team

Identify opportunities to delegate both clinical and administrative tasks as appropriate and engage in discussion with the nursing team as to the most effective strategies to implement these

Help the practice operate in a cost-effective manner

Participate in weekly practice meetings and other relevant meetings

Work alongside the multi-professional team in improving systems for monitoring/measuring performance against quality targets

Ensure practice policies are implemented and maintained/updated

Management of Information:

Use technology and appropriate practice agreed software to aid planning, implementation and monitoring of care

Keep accurate and timely records as episodes of patient care to ensure quality and aid accurate information retrieval for monitoring and audit processes

Participate in quality searches and presentation of clinical data to aid quality improvement

Ensure accurate and confidential completion and transfer of patient information

Be familiar with and act in accordance with NMC record keeping Guidance for Nurses and Midwives

Learning and Development:

Participate in annual appraisal

Assess own learning needs and undertake learning/continuing professional development as agreed in annual appraisal and in conjunction with the Nurse Lead. Personal development will be encouraged and supported by the practice and should be in accordance with practice requirements

Remain up to date with professional/clinical developments to inform safe and effective practice

Participate in education and training of all members of the healthcare team including GP registrars and medical/nursing students

Be willing to develop your own role in line with new developments within the practice. If expansion of the current role is required, full training and support will be given

Ensure relevant professional development needs are met to meet NMC requirements- the practice will support these

Support local networking and attend local educational forums as appropriate

Equality & Diversity:

Act in a way that promotes equality and diversity amongst patients, carers and colleagues, recognising the importance of individuals rights and interpreting them in a way that is consistent with current legislation, practice policies and procedures

Respect the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues

Accept the right of individuals to choose their care providers, participate in and refuse care

Health and Safety/Risk Management:

Comply with the practices Health and Safety policy and the Infection Control Policy, following agreed safe working procedures and reporting incidents using the practices reporting system

Engage in significant event meetings and implement recommendations in partnership with the practice team

Comply with the Data Protection Act (1998) and the Access to Health records Act (1990)

Confidentiality:

In the performance of duties outlined in this job description, the post holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients, their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organization. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential

Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the practice may only be divulged to authorized persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive

This job description is intended to provide an outline of the key tasks and responsibilities of the post holder. There may be other duties required of the post-holder commensurate with the position. This description will be open to regular review and may be amended to take into account development within the practice and of the individual. All members of staff should be willing and prepared to take on additional duties or relinquish existing duties in order to maintain effective patient care and efficient running of the practice.

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered General Nurse holding current registration with the NMC
• Several years post qualification experience
• Evidence of autonomous work and as part of a team
• Experience in management of chronic conditions including diabetes; asthma; COPD; hypertension
• Evidence of ability to evaluate the effectiveness of own clinical practice
• Evidence of ability to diagnose, manage and evaluate care for chronic/long term conditions (recent relevant courses/CPD)
• Evidence of up to date evidence base for clinical nursing practice in general practice
• Evidence of knowledge of contemporaneous public health issues relevant to practice
• Knowledge of national standards that inform practice
• Understanding of accountability and arising from the NMC Code of Conduct and medico-legal aspects of Independent Nurse Prescribing
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
• Evidence of clinical leadership skills
• Reflective practitioner
• Evidence of ability to manage time and workload effectively
• Evidence of ability to work across professional boundaries
• Ability to analyse data, drawing out implications for individual patient/management
• Well-developed IT skills
• Self-directed practitioner, motivated and adaptable

Desirable

• Relevant nursing/health degree
• Independent Nurse prescribing Qualification recorded with the NMC
• Teaching qualification
• Willingness to develop as nurse practitioner
• Recent primary/community nursing experience
• Evidence of ability to work across boundaries and engage with secondary and community care sectors
• Experience of working with the child immunisation programme
• Experience of health needs assessment
• Experience of health promotion and wellness services
• Experience of travel health
• Experience of home visit assessment of patients
• Evidence of ability to recognize/assess needs of local population and how these needs may be met
• Ability to consider wider public health issues and their role in public health initiatives, individually and as part of the wider MDT
• Familiar with EMIS web or similar medical software package
• Evidence of ability to think strategically
• Full UK driving license

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).