Practice Nurse

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job Responsibilities

Assist in and perform routine tasks related to patient care as directed by senior nursing staff and GPs. Once the relevant training has been undertaken, such tasks may include:

• Basic wound care / ulcer care
• Removal of sutures
• New patient medicals
• Urinalysis
• ECGs
• Peak flow readings
• Venepuncture
• Blood pressure measurements
• Ear syringing
• Routine immunisations
• Health Checks
• Cytology
• Assisting GPs with minor surgery and coil fittings
• Requesting basic pathology tests, for example urine culture, swabs
• Following agreed clinical protocols with referral to senior nurses or GPs as appropriate
• Take part in the annual flu immunisation programme
• Support the work of other nursing staff during slack periods
• Provide cover for other clinics within your hours (or as overtime if possible) if required by the Practice Manager
• Keep skills up-to-date for all nursing duties you might be required to undertake including smear-taking and wound care, etc
• Carry out over 75 checks as required
• Provide emergency nursing services, such as ECGs, bloods etc

Other tasks including:

• Maintaining and cleaning equipment used by the nurses and GPs
• Maintaining GP and nurses rooms, stocking and rotating items as required
• Chaperoning and assisting patients who are being examined by another clinician
• Undertake housekeeping duties including, general tidiness and cleanliness of nurses and treatment rooms
• Ordering of vaccinations to maintain stock levels
• Participation in administrative systems in the practice
• At all times there will be a need to maintain accurate records
• A duty to advise senior nurses of potential problems or errors within the range of assigned tasks
• Attend and participate in any practice meetings when required.
• On occasion there may be a requirement to undertake home visits

Duties and Responsibilities:

Chronic Disease Management

• Have a good understanding of Coronary Heart Disease, Cardiovascular Disease, Hypertension, Diabetes, Respiratory Diseases, Chronic Kidney Disease and Peripheral Arterial Disease; ensuring knowledge and skills base are kept up to date in line with current thinking
• Ensure the practice template for Chronic Disease Management is updated at every opportunity
• Provide patients with written and verbal information about their diagnosis and treatment
• Offer lifestyle risk reduction advice to patients
• Work within agreed protocols when managing risk factors to enable patients to manage their own disease
• Undertake annual reviews of CDM patients

Diabetes Management

• Have a good understanding of Diabetes and ensure knowledge and skills base are kept up-to-date in line with current thinking.
• Maintain up-to-date register of diabetic patients. Ensure these are correctly coded on the computer using agreed read codes.
• Monitor the health of diabetic patients against key indicators of diabetic control as per practice protocol and record using diabetes template.
• Give advice and support to patients to promote good self-management and diabetic control.
• In collaboration with the Administration and Reception Team, arrange the recall of patients for diabetic annual review, and monitor attendance.
• Liaise with other health professionals involved in the delivery of diabetic care, both inside and outside the practice.
• Contribute to the development of practice diabetes protocols and audit.
• Ensure equipment and supplies involved in the delivery of diabetic care, including educational materials, are adequate, appropriate and effective.

• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of asthma and COPD management
• Undertake asthma and COPD annual reviews
• Perform peak flow readings, Feno and spirometry (where trained)
• Assess inhaler technique and provide education
• Develop personalised asthma action plans and COPD self-management plans
• Identify patients requiring escalation or referral
• Provide smoking cessation advice where appropriate
• Maintain disease registers and accurate coding
• Participate in recall systems for respiratory patients

Warfarin Management

• Be responsible for warfarin initiation and ongoing management of patient.
• Adjusting anticoagulant dosing according to INR through established protocols, nationally agreed philosophy and influenced by locally acquired knowledge and experience, taking into account co-morbidities, other medications, social and other factors which may increase risks of treatment.
• To recognise clinical emergencies arising in patients taking anticoagulants and arrange appropriate management with advice from a GP.
• To ensure co-ordination of ongoing patient care by assisting and co-operating with other healthcare professionals in the hospital and community; to include situations whereby oral anticoagulants may need to be temporarily interrupted and be able to assess the need for referral to a GP.
• To ensure all care is given in accordance with agreed protocols.
• To use computerised dosing software to an advanced level and ensure the database is up-to-date to facilitate clinical decision making by other users.
• To be aware of the national, regional and practice guidelines relating to anticoagulation and ensure that they are applied to clinical practice.

Sexual Health

Advise patients on the National and Local Cervical Cytology and Mammography screening programmes

Undertake accredited training and perform cervical cytology sampling under supervision until competent

Audit a minimum of 20 consecutive smears each year (inadequacy rate should be <12.7%)

Promote breast self-awareness, demonstrate breast self-examination and provide supporting literature

Advise patients about reducing the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and make appropriate referrals

Take swabs for microscopy as directed

Give advice about peri-menopausal and post-menopausal symptoms and make appropriate referrals. Also advising on increased risk of osteoporosis and heart disease and offering health promotion/lifestyle advice

Family Planning

• Has appropriate training and work to practice protocols
• Advise patients on available methods of contraception and refer patients as appropriate
• Advise patients about reducing the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and make appropriate referrals
• Perform interval health checks for patients using hormonal contraception
• Support patients attending for emergency contraception, including future contraception advice; refer patients as appropriate

Vaccinations & Immunisations

• Provide an adult and child immunisation service
• In collaboration with the Administrative and Reception Teams, help to maintain the call and recall of patients
• Develop and work to practice protocols (inc. cold chain, anaphylaxis etc)
• Ensure the cold chain protocol is maintained
• Ensure anaphylaxis training every 3 years
• Administer injections under an individualised prescription or Patient Group Direction
• Maintain accurate records as per practice protocol
• Work within the team to identify at risk groups for influenza and pneumococcal
• Work to increase the uptake of vaccine by at risk groups in accordance with DoH guidelines
• Provide travel vaccinations available on the NHS
• Provide travel health advice, including malaria prevention, food and water safety, and general travel health risks
• Signpost patients to private travel vaccination services where vaccines are not available on the NHS

Assess travel risk and ensure appropriate documentation is completed

Wound Management

• Manage minor injuries
• Perform suture and clip removal as needed
• Assist with Minor Surgery as needed

Any other delegated duties appropriate to the post.

Special Requirements of the Post

• An understanding, acceptance and adherence to the need for strict confidentiality
• Ability to use own judgment, resourcefulness and common sense
• A commitment to maintain a high professional standard of nursing care and keep up to date with all aspects of nursing care relevant to the post
• A commitment to ensure all Health and Safety requirements and Infection Control measures are met and to report any problems to the practice manager
• A commitment to the effective use of practice and NHS resources
• An awareness of own limitations and experience
• To work only in accordance with the UKCC Code of Conduct and within the scope of professional practice
• To have a written professional development plan and to maintain an up to date portfolio which meets the requirements of registration with the UKCC
• Cooperate with annual appraisal meetings

Please see attached job description for more details

Person Specification

Personal Attributes

Essential

• -Friendly and approachable manner
• -Professional in approach
• -Calm and able to work under pressure
• -Good use of initiative
• -Able to work as part of a multi-skilled team (with and/or without direct supervision)
• -Willing to undergo any training related to the job role
• Flexible with working hours (and to cover sickness and annual leave)

Qualifications

Essential

• -Registered General Nurse

Desirable

• -Recognised Training / qualification in Cervical Cytology screening
• -Recognised Training / qualification in Anticoagulation management
• -Recognised Training / qualification in Chronic Disease Management (including Asthma and COPD)
• -Recognised qualification in diabetes management
• -Recognised Training / qualification Women's Health (include Contraception and HRT)
• -Recognised Training / qualification in administering adult and childhood vaccination

Experience

Essential

• -2 years post qualification experience
• -Experience of computers and clinical systems
• -Competent in basic Practice Nurse Duties (including ECGs, wound care, flu vaccinations,)
• -Able to work without direct supervision and determine own workload priories.
• -Understands the need to maintain data security and confidentiality of information.

Desirable

• -Practical knowledge of SystmOne (clinical system)
• -Experience of working in a General Practice

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).

Employer details

Employer name

Appletree Medical Practice

Address

47a Town Street

Duffield

Belper

Derbyshire

DE56 4GG

Employer's website

https://appletreemedical.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)