Advanced Clinical Practitioner

Job description

Job responsibilities

Primary responsibilities

The following are the core responsibilities of the Advanced Clinical Practitioner. There may be, on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks. This will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels:

Clinical Practice

• Assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate treatment/interventions and care for patients presenting with an undifferentiated diagnosis
• Clinically examine and assess patient needs from a physiological and psychological perspective, and plan clinical care accordingly
• Assess, diagnosis, plan, implement and 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.
• Only prescribe, advise on or provide medicines and treatment including repeat prescriptions if you have enough knowledge of that persons health and are satisfied that the medicines or treatment serve that persons health needs.
• Be aware for each patient, any other care or treatment or over the counter medicines they are receiving before prescribing new medications.
• Work with patients in order to support compliance with and adherence to prescribed treatments
• Provide information and advice on prescribed or over-the-counter medication on medication regimens, 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 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
• Carry out basic assessment of mental health, monitoring cognitive function and supporting delivery of appropriate care, being aware of the signs of normal and worsening physical and mental health
• Meet the needs of patients presenting for opportunistic wound care
• Ensure that patients are timely and appropriately referred to another practitioner when it is in the best interest of the individual needing action, care or treatment
• Ensure that help is requested from a suitably qualified and experienced healthcare professional to carry out any action or procedure that is beyond the limits of your competence
• Remain objective and have clear professional boundaries at all times with people in your care, their families and carers

Communication

• Utilise and 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, taking reasonable steps to meet peoples language and communication need; using term that they will understand
• Anticipate barriers to communication and take action to improve communication
• Maintain effective communication within the practice environment and with external stakeholders
• Act as an advocate for patients and colleagues
• Ensure awareness of sources of support and guidance (eg PALS) and provide information in an acceptable format to all patients, recognising any difficulties and referring where appropriate

Deliver a quality service

• Be mindful to keep to and uphold the standards and values as set out in the Nursing and Midwifery Code 2015
• Be aware of current evidence, knowledge and developments in reducing mistakes and the effect of them and the impact of human factors and system failures
• Ensure that any information or advice provided is evidence-based and that you maintain the knowledge and skills for safe and effective practice
• Produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete records of patient consultation, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures
• Ensure that all entries made to the electronic records are attributed to yourself, making sure they are clearly written, dated and timed and do not include any unnecessary abbreviations, jargon or speculation
• 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 organisation
• Use a structured framework (eg 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
• Mentor, support and develop the performance of the GPN team in accordance with the in-house mentorship programme
• 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 personal and people development

• Take responsibility for own learning and performance including participating in clinical supervision and acting as a positive role mode
• 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 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 services
• Critically evaluate and review innovations and developments that are relevant to the area of work
• Take a lead role in planning and implementing changes within the area of care and responsibility
• 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
• Market the role of the advanced clinical practitioner in general practice

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 the mechanisms to develop new ways of working
• Delegate clearly and appropriately, adopting the principles of safe practice and assessment of competence
• Create clear referral mechanisms to meet patient need
• Prioritise own workload and ensure effective time-management strategies are embedded within the culture of the team
• Work effectively with others to clearly define values, direction and policies impacting upon care delivery
• 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
• Agree plans and outcomes by which to measure success

Management of risk

• Take all reasonable personal precautions necessary to avoid any potential health risk to colleagues, people receiving care and the public
• 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
• Apply infection-control measures within the practice according to local and national guidelines
• Advocate for policies that reduce environmental health risks, are culturally sensitive and increase access to health care for all
• Interpret national strategies and policies into local implementation strategies that are aligned to the values and culture of general practice

Managing information

• Use technology and appropriate software as an aid to management in planning, implementation and monitoring of care, presenting and communicating information
• Ensure that our patients are informed about how and why information is used and shared by those who will be providing care
• Review and process data using accurate Read codes in order to ensure easy and accurate information retrieval for monitoring and audit processes
• Manage information searches using the internet and local library databases
• Understand responsibility of self and others to the practice and primary care trust regarding the Freedom and Information Act
• Collate, analyse and present clinical data and information to the team

Learning and development

• Undertake mentorship for more junior staff, assessing competence against set standards
• Disseminate learning and information gained to other team members in order to share good practice and inform others about current and future developments (e.g. courses and conferences)

• Assess own learning needs and undertake learning as appropriate
• Provide an educational role to patients, carers, families and colleagues in an environment that facilitates learning .

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• ACP qualification and NMC Registered

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

Ammonite Health Partnership

Address

Bridport Medical Centre

West Allington

Bridport

Dorset

DT6 5BN

Employer's website

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