Job responsibilities
JOB DESCRIPTION
JOB TITLE: Practice Nurse with responsibilities for Chronic Disease Management (CDM), Infection Control, Safeguarding and QOF
REPORTS TO: Lead Nurse
Job summary:
The post holder is responsible for ensuring the delivery of safe and effective nursing care to the whole practice population. The focus of the role is the delivery of evidence-based practice for patients with long-term conditions and management and preventative nursing interventions to all patients. As an autonomous practitioner, the post holder is responsible for the care delivered and for demonstrating critical thinking and skills in clinical decision-making. They will work collaboratively with the whole general practice team to meet the needs of patients, supporting the delivery of policy and procedures, and providing leadership where required with the lead nurse to the nursing team.
Job Responsibilities:
Clinical practice
- Management of Chronic Disease: Diagnosis, monitoring and development of individual management plans; agreeing these as appropriate with the patient and other health professionals
- Assess, plan, develop, implement and evaluate treatment programmes that promote health and well-being for asthma, COPD, diabetes, coronary heart disease/hypertension and cerebral vascular disease
- Supporting colleagues in a unified delivery of CD services
Work with other health care professionals to diagnose, monitor, manage and treat diabetes, asthma, COPD, Hypertension.
Review medication for therapeutic effectiveness, appropriate to patient needs and in accordance with evidence based practice and national and practice protocols
Prescribe products to meet the needs of patients within the Practice population
Work with patients in order to support adherence to prescribed treatments
Provide information and advice on prescribed or over-the-counter medication on medication regimes, 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 them to live healthily, and apply principles of self-care
Support and manage health needs of women presenting for family planning/ genealogical purposes and cervical cytology consultations
Meet the needs of patients presenting for wound care
Communication
The post-holder should recognise the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:
Communicate effectively with other team members
Recognise peoples needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly
Demonstrate sensitive communication styles to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to treatment
Communicate with and 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
Act as an advocate when representing patients and colleagues
Participate in practice team meetings; nurse team meetings, PHC meetings, All Staff meetings and ICB PLT sessions.
Delivering a quality service
Work closely with partners and managers to ensure the practice meets quality indicators and targets (including the Quality and Outcomes Framework and contract monitoring measures)
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 maintains and promotes quality
Deliver care as an individual and team according to NSF, NICE guidelines and evidence-based care
Evaluate patients response to health care provision and the effectiveness of care
Understand and apply legal policy that supports the identification of vulnerable and abused children and adults, being aware of statutory child/vulnerable adult health procedure and local guidance
Work within policies regarding family violence, vulnerable adults, substance abuse and addictive behaviour, and refer as appropriate
Personal and professional development
In addition to maintaining continued education through attendance at any courses and/or study days necessary to ensure that NMC professional development requirements for PREP are met, the post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the Practice as part of this employment, such training to include:
- taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance including participating in clinical supervision and acting as a positive role model and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work.
- Actively promote the workplace as a learning environment, encouraging everyone to learn from each other and from external good practice
- Participate in CPD opportunities to ensure that up-to-date evidence based knowledge and competence in aspects of the role is maintained.
- Participate in clinical supervision.
Team working
Understand own role and scope in the practice and identify how this may develop over time
Ensure clear referral mechanisms are in place to meet patient need
Support and assist the Lead Nurse in ensuring effective time-management strategies are embedded within the culture of the team for CDM and QOF.
Work effectively with others to clearly define values, direction and policies impacting upon care delivery
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, reporting any concerns to Health & Safety Manager (Alice de Pierpont)
Ensure the safe storage, rotation and disposal of vaccines and drugs. Oversee the monitoring, stock control and documentation of controlled drug usage according to legal requirements if required.
Support the Lead Nurse with applying policies that reduce environmental health risks, are culturally sensitive and increase access to health care for all
Utilising information
Use technology and appropriate software packages as an aid to the planning, implementation and monitoring of care, presenting and communicating information
Review and process data using accurate Read codes in order to ensure easy and accurate information retrieval for monitoring and audit processes
Understand the responsibility of self and others regarding the Freedom of Information Act
Supporting Learning and development within the team
Act as mentor for more junior staff and students, assessing competence against set standards
Disseminate learning and information to other team members in order to share good practice and inform others about current and future developments (e.g. courses and conferences)
Provide an educational role to patients, carers, families and colleagues in an environment that facilitates learning
Health & Safety
The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others health, safety and security as defined in the Practice Health & Safety Policy, to include:
Using personal security systems within the workplace according to Practice guidelines
Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks
Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills
Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards
Reporting potential risks identified.
Equality and diversity
- Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues
- 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 in exercising their rights
- Monitor and evaluate adherence to local chaperoning policies
- Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights and 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 marginalised groups to access quality care
Confidentiality
In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately
In the performance of the duties outlined in this Job Description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, Practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the Practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded 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 and the protection of personal and sensitive data.