Advanced Practitioner

Job responsibilities

Job Responsibilities

Clinical Nursing Practice

• Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team to deliver safe and high-quality care.
• Perform clinical nursing practice using expert clinical skills, critical judgements & knowledge to deliver appropriate and safe care.
• Ensure clinical practice is safe and effective and remain within boundaries of competence and acknowledge limitations.
• Triage and treat patients, performing specialist assessment of their needs and make referrals as necessary to other members of the primary and secondary health care teams as appropriate.
• Co-ordinate the planning and delivery of care ensuring patients and carers/relatives are involved.
• Diagnose and manage acute and chronic conditions, including drug and non-drug-based treatment methods into a management plan (within scope of competency and prescribing qualifications).
• Request diagnostic investigations within agreed protocols e.g. x-ray, blood tests, scans, etc.
• Assess, diagnose and treat patients in practice premises or their own home who require medical attention and/or refer to appropriate agency.
• Refer patients to other members of the multi-disciplinary practice teams, secondary care organisations and other organisations as necessary.
• 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 family planning, cervical cytology or sexual health consultation
• Assess, identify and refer patients presenting with mental health needs in accordance with the NSF for Mental Health
• Implement and participate in vaccination and immunisation programmes for both adults and children
• Advise, support and administer vaccinations for patients travelling abroad, where appropriate
• Promote and deliver evidence-based care for patients presenting with aural conditions
• Meet the needs of patients presenting for opportunistic wound care
• Undertake minor surgery as appropriate to competence.

Delivering a Quality Service

• Communicates confidential and sensitive information to patients, relatives and 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 and national practice targets clinical remit e.g. QOF, prescribing incentive scheme, National benchmarking.
• To monitor and meet care outcomes against standards and recommend or initiate changes as necessary.
• Working with anticipated care planning
• 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 according to NSF, 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
• In partnership with other clinical teams, collaborate on improving the quality of health care responding to local and national policies and initiatives as appropriate
• Evaluate patients response to health care provision and the effectiveness of care
• Support and participate in shared learning across the practice and wider organisationn
• Use a structured framework (e.g. root-cause analysis) to manage, review and identify learning from patient complaints, clinical incidents and near-miss events
• Assess the impact of policy implementation on care delivery
• Working with the practice management monitor and develop the performance of the GPN team in accordance with local policies
• Contribute to the appraisal of the performance of the team, providing feedback as appropriate
• 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
• Working with practice management to ensure the whole team have skills and knowledge regarding domestic violence, vulnerable adults, substance abuse and addictive behaviour. Provide guidance and support to ensure appropriate referral if required.

Health Improvement

• Management of health screening programmes and ensures other team members are aware of health priorities and screening objectives and 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 and presentations where appropriate.
• Supports practitioners in reporting the practice population to promote health improvement and disease prevention.
• Makes referrals to appropriate agencies (statutory and voluntary) where necessary Administration and professional responsibilities
• Produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete records of patient consultation, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures
• Participate in the administrative and professional responsibilities of the practice team
• Accurate and legible notes of all consultations and 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 health care 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.
• 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.
• 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

• 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
• Take responsibility for own learning and performance including participating in clinical supervision and acting as a positive role model
• Promote the role of the advanced nurse practitioner in general practice

For those with Nurse Management experience and wish to be considered for a Nurse Manager Role

• 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
• Encourage others to make realistic self-assessment of their application of knowledge and skills, challenging any complacency or actions that are not in the interest of the public and/or users of service
• Enlist support and influence stakeholders and decision-makers in order to bring about new developments in the provision of services
• Work with practice management to ensure sufficient staff of appropriate ability, quality and skill-mix are available to meet current and future service delivery, that selection and recruitment processes are effective and that equality of treatment of the team incorporates quality HR principles and processes
• Contribute to the development of local guidelines, protocols and standards
• Maintain effective communication with those responsible for the overall commissioning and procurement process
• Maintain active involvement in the planning and processes of practice-based commissioning or similar initiatives

Qualifications

Essential

• + Registered Nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council
• + Masters degree or Post Graduate Diploma or Degree for Advanced Practice Qualification or RCN accreditation
• + Qualified Independent Nurse Prescriber
• + Meets the standards for registered ANP working at advanced level
• + Minor illness qualification

Desirable

• + Qualified Triage Nurse
• + Mentor/Teaching Qualification

Experience

Essential

• + Significant post registration experience
• + Recent primary and community nursing experience
• + Nurse-led management of minor illness, minor ailments and injuries
• + Nurse-led triage
• + Compiling protocols and clinical guidelines
• + Clinical Leadership
• + Audit
• + Research
• + Experience of prescribing and undertaking medication reviews

Desirable

• + Experience of working as a Practice Nurse or Community Nurse
• + Experience of Managing a Nursing Team

Knowledge / Skills / Training

Essential

• + Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• + Communication of difficult messages to patients and families
• + Negotiation and conflict management skills
• + Advanced clinical practice skills
• + Management of patients with long term conditions
• + Management of patients with complex needs
• + Clinical examination skills
• + Accountability of own role and other roles in a nurse-led service
• + Local and national health policy
• + Wider health economy
• + Clinical governance issues in primary care

Desirable

• + Clinical leadership skills
• + Change management
• + Teaching and mentorship in a clinical setting
• + Resource management
• + Knowledge of public health issues
• + Able to identify determinants on health in the area

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).