Job responsibilities
Key responsibilities
Clinical practice
Assess, diagnose, plan, implement & evaluate treatment/interventions and care for patients presenting with an undifferentiated diagnosis within the practice, patients homes or residential care facilities
Clinically examine and assess patient needs from a physiological and psychological perspective, and plan care accordingly
Assess, diagnose, plan, implement & evaluate interventions/treatments 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 and over the counter medication on medication regimens, side effects and interactions.
Conduct medication reviews
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
Support and manage health needs of women presenting for contraception
Assess, identify and refer patients presenting with mental health needs
Participate in vaccination and immunisation programmes for both adults and children
Meet the needs of patients presenting for opportunistic/continuing wound care
Communication
Utilise & demonstrate sensitive communication styles, to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to treatment
Communicate with & support patients who are receiving bad news
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 with the practice environment and external stakeholders
Act as 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
Prioritise, organise and manage own workload in a manner that promotes quality
Deliver care according to 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
Utilise the audit cycle as a means of evaluating the quality of the work of self and the team, implementing improvements where required
Evaluate patients response to health care provision and the effectiveness of care
Support and participate in shared learning across the practice and wider organisation
Use a structured framework (e.g. critical incident reporting) to manage, review and identify learning from patient complaints, clinical incidents and near-miss events
Assess the impact of policy implementation on care delivery
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
Leadership
Take responsibility for own learning & performance including participating in clinical supervision and acting as a positive role model
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
Encourage others to make a realistic self-assessment of their application of knowledge and skills, challenging any complacency or actions not in the interest of the public and/or users of the service
Critically evaluate and review innovations and developments that are relevant to their area of work
Enlist support and influence stakeholders and decision-makers in order to bring about new developments in the provision of services
Participate in planning and implementing changes within the area of care and responsibility
Contribute to the development of local guidelines, protocols and standards
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 mechanisms to develop new ways of working
Delegate clearly and appropriately, adopting the principles of safe assessment of competence
Discuss, highlight and work with the team to create opportunities to improve patient care
Manage and lead on the delivery of specifically identified services or 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 appropriate safe storage, rotation and disposal of vaccines and drugs used.
Apply infection control measures within the practice according to local and national guidelines
Managing information
Use technology and appropriate software as an aid to management in planning and implementation and monitoring of care
Review and process data using accurate read codes in order to ensure easy and accurate information retrieval for monitoring and audit processes
Collate, analyse and present clinical data to the team if required
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 help 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 marginalized groups to access care
This job description is intended to provide an outline of the key tasks and responsibilities only. 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. All members of staff should be prepared to take on additional duties or relinquish existing duties in order to maintain the efficient running of the Practice