Practice Nurse Level 5

Job responsibilities

JOB PURPOSE

This role requires consolidation of registrant standards of competence and developing confidence to work alone without direct supervision, undertaking and reporting on autonomous decisions made in practice. It is expected that all newly registered staff or those moving to a general practice setting will have a period of preceptorship. This role requires a developing knowledge of practice nursing in the broadest sense, and excellent interpersonal and communication skills to support patients with a wide range of conditions to understand and , where possible, take on self management of their condition. The role requires resilience and the ability to be flexible and adaptable whilst working in General Practice or people's homes and other community settings. Level 5 nurses will be working as part of a primary/community nursing team and will have some responsibility for supervising less experienced or qualified staff and students in community placements. They will be expected to actively contribute to quality assurance processes and service development.

KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

Site Operational Managers

Rota Team

Patient Advisors

General Practitioners

Clinicians

PCN Workers

MAIN DUTIES

Principal Responsibilities:

• Ability to assess patients, taking into account their physical, mental and social status alongside the impact of their environment and social support available to them and negotiating care plans that are person centred and focused on self-care with clear objectives
• Using a range of assessment tools pertinent to the patients needs to inform the assessment and assess risk for both patients and staff
• Articulation of risk and strategy for risk management
• Knowledge of a broad range of conditions, local care pathways and evidence based management experienced by patients in community and general practice settings. This will include LTCs, for example diabetes, coronary heart disease, heart failure, hypertension and stroke, COPD, arthritis, dementia and other common mental illnesses, frailty, and palliative and end of life care
• An understanding of the presentations of multiple pathology, depression and anxiety states and frailty predominantly in older people

Knowledge of the management of uncomplicated symptoms in those patients with palliative or terminal care needs and enhanced communication skills to confidently manage uncertainty

• Role model the values expected in Compassion in Practice (2014), ensuring that patient, family and carer feedback supports that care received was compassionate
• Ensuring information is recorded objectively and reported back to the community or general practice nursing team

Facilitation of Learning:

• Able to recognise personal development needs and also facilitate learning for patients, carers, other staff and students
• Ability to reflect on practice and utilise clinical supervision and other development opportunities and support
• Emotional intelligence and the ability to support staff in levels 2,3 and 4, to debrief and reflect on difficult situations experienced to improve learning and enhance self-awareness
• Engagement with appraisal and the development and activation of a personal development plan
• Providing effective mentorship for nursing students and the maintenance of a supportive learning environment with a range of learning opportunities
• Creativity in developing learning materials for patients and adapting care to support individual needs in patients

Leadership & Management

• Ability to prioritise a delegated caseload/workload and effectively manage time and work effectively within the team
• Knowledge of resource management to ensure care is clinically effective and signposted to the patient and family ensuring principles of confidentiality and disclosure are maintained
• Recognition of personal accountability and responsibility to monitor and evaluate care to ensure optimal practice
• Using opportunities to suggest improvements to services or introduction of other innovations or evidence
• Engage actively in data collection for quality assurance
• Participation in personal development, appraisal and development of other team members and the links between organisation and team goals
• Ability to recognise poor performance and take appropriate measures
• Assist in undertaking and reviewing needs assessments and other data in general practice that reflect the demographics and case management within the caseload and the broader public health issues within the local community and practice populations
• Have an awareness of and participate in public health campaigns aimed at addressing public health issues both locally and nationally
• Collaborate effectively with a range of healthcare professionals and agencies that may be involved in patients' interdependent care, ensuring awareness of their scope of practice, roles and responsibilities to ensure correct referral and ongoing relationships
• Participate in educational audit

Evidence, Research and Development

• Has an enquiring approach to practice to ensure best quality care is offered
• Ability to articulate the evidence underpinning patients' care plans and interventions
• Ability to source evidence and to appraise it to underpin practice. Recognise any ethical implications of audit, research, clinical trial or service user involvement strategies

Clinical Practice

• Ability to assess and manage the range of conditions encountered in general practice using a variety of assessment tools and consultation models
• Advanced communication skills that include skills of influencing and negotiation to enable information to be delivered in understandable formats for patients and behaviour change supported where necessary
• Effective multidisciplinary and multi-agency team working alongside the ability to work independently and accept professional accountability
• Delivery and co-ordination of evidence informed, person centred and negotiated care across the age spectrum
• Use of technology to support independence ad patient self-care at home
• Role modelling and embodiment of non-judgmental , value-based care encompassing the 6Cs in practice and expectation and promotion of these values in other team members
• Competence in delivering evidence informed care across a wide range of minor acute and LTC's ensuring effective evaluation of therapeutic and other approaches to condition management alongside ability to assess patient concordance.

OTHER DUTIES

Confidentiality

Understand the responsibility of self and others regarding the Freedom of Information and Data Protection Act (and from May 2018 the GDPR).

Equality and Inclusion

Each member of staff is required to undertake their duties with due regard for the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 i.e not to discriminate against members of staff, patients, carers, contractors and any visitors.

Safeguarding Children and Adults

Bay Medical Group has a zero tolerance approach to the abuse of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All employees are required to comply with the Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures and the Children Act (1989, 2004). In accordance with the CCG and Local Safeguarding Adult Board policy all staff must ensure the health and wellbeing of vulnerable adults s appropriately safeguarded.

Health, Safety and Security

In accordance with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and other supplementary legislation, all employees are required to take reasonable care to avoid injury during the course of work as defined in the practice health and safety policy, the practice health and safety manual, and the practice infection control policy and published procedures.

External Interests

Each member of staff at Bay Medical Group is responsible for ensuring that any external interest they have do not conflict with the duties of their posts and they must disclose the external interest if this is likely to occur, or if they are in doubt about a possible conflict with their work.

Statutory Training

Each member of staff at Bay Medical Group has a statutory obligation to attend mandatory training. It is the responsibility of each member of staff to ensure that they comply with this legal requirement.

Flexibility

This job description is intended to act as a flexible guide to the duties of the post and therefore will require revision in consultation with the post holder to reflect the changing requirements of the post, to enable Bay Medical Group to achieve its goals and objectives.

Personal and Professional Development

The post holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, such training to include:

• Mandatory training
• Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and professional development
• Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work

Attributes and Behaviours

Essential

• A complete finisher.
• Resilience and drive.
• Personal and professional integrity and confidence.
• Flexibility.
• Self-starter.
• Resourceful.
• Strong facilitating skills.
• Calm and resolute under pressure.
• Self-motivated and enthusiastic.
• High workload capacity and capable of sustained effort over a long period.
• Effective delegator.
• Political Awareness.
• Full driving licence.

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Part 1 NMC
• Hold or working towards a degree.
• Modules to support mentorship, prescribing or general practice nursing.

Desirable

• Foundation graduate certificate (Level 6) or postgraduate certificate (Level 7).

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working within the NHS.
• Experience of implementing protocols and clinical guidelines.
• Knowledge of accountability of own role and other roles in a nurse led service.
• Knowledge of public health issues.
• Knowledge of principles of Clinical Governance, confidentiality, data protection and information governance.
• Knowledge of the safeguarding children and adults policies and procedures and how to apply these.

Desirable

• Experience of long-term condition review and management.
• Experience of quality initiatives such as clinical benchmarking.
• Ability to identify the determinants of health in the local area.

Skills

Essential

• Clinical Leadership.
• Clinical skills e.g Wound Care, Immunisation and Vaccination, venepuncture, clinical observations.
• Change management skills and ability to support patients to change lifestyle.
• Communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Ability to communicate difficult messages to patients and families.
• I.T Skills.

Desirable

• Negotiation and conflict management skills.
• Ability to provide teaching and mentorship in a clinical setting.

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).