Practice Nurse

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key responsibilities clinical

1. Caring for patients

Implement and evaluate treatment plans for patients with long-term conditions.

Long-term disease management, including (but not limited to):

o Running diabetes management clinics and supporting patients

o Running asthma/COPD clinics and supporting patients (including inhaler and nebuliser use and care)

o Managing chronic heart disease

o Managing hypertension

Other chronic disease management/QOF activities

Support and advise patients in managing their own disease.

Identify and manage treatment plans for patients at risk of long-term conditions.

Appropriately support patients in complex, urgent or emergency situations, and initiate emergency care as required.

Support and encourage patients to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

Give advice on prescribed or over the counter medications.

Support and advise women with family planning needs, including contraception and safe sex advice.

Carry out, support and advise women with regards to cervical smear tests

Support and advise men with health/lifestyle advice and appropriate referrals.

Support and refer patients with mental health needs.

Carry out testing/screening, including (but not limited to):

o Urine testing/analysis

o Blood pressure measurement/monitoring

o ECG

o Height, weight measurement

o Audio testing

o Spirometry

o Oral glucose tolerance testing

o Take and test pathology samples from patients for analysis (blood, sputum, urine, etc)

Care for patients with wounds, including (but not limited to):

o Removal of sutures

o Tissue viability assessment

o Wound cleaning and dressing

o Management of burns and scalds

o Ulcer care, including Doppler assessment.

Management of minor injuries (sprains, bruising, cuts, etc).

Management of skin conditions and referral where necessary.

Run travel clinics and advise patients on vaccination, medication, malaria prophylaxis and avoidance, safe sex, food hygiene, health insurance, etc.

Implement and participate in vaccination and immunisation programmes for both adults and children, including (but not limited to):

o Routine immunisations

o Pertussis immunisation for pregnant women

o Flu immunisation

o Pneumococcal immunisation

Perform other clinical duties as required, within the scope of the practice nurses competencies and training.

2. Communication with patients

Ensure patients and carers are aware of and acknowledge the practice nurses role, including its scope and limits.

Advise and process referrals for patients who need to be seen by a GP or other appropriate member of the clinical team.

Use communication that is appropriate to the situation, including:

o Communicating sensitively with patients and carers when delivering bad news

Establishing appropriate communication methods to suit patients and carers level of understanding, cultural/language needs, and preferred communication method.

Anticipating and overcoming barriers to communication, seeking support from other staff members where necessary

Use appropriate communication skills and style to make patients aware of risk, to obtain consent where necessary, and to ensure patients comply with treatment.

3. Delivering high-quality services

Provide services to the practices patient population, to the highest possible standard, in line with competencies and professional code of conduct.

Monitor and maintain the standard of care provided, taking appropriate action if standards are not met, through self- and peer-review, benchmarking and evaluation.

Participate in clinical governance and clinical audit activities to ensure the continual improvement of service delivery.

Where appropriate, participate in reviewing and responding to complaints, significant events and other shared learning activities.

Key responsibilities non-clinical

1. Record Keeping

Accurate record-keeping, including (but not limited to):

o Making and maintaining accurate, contemporaneous records of encounters with patients

o Keeping nursing team records accurate and up to date, in collaboration with the rest of the nursing team

o Labelling patient samples accurately and processing for collection and analysis

Maintain a safe working environment, in accordance with health and safety protocol, including (but not limited to):

o Keeping clinical and non-clinical working areas tidy and free of hazards, minimising the risk to everyone in the practice

o Adhering to policies relating to infection control, cold chain, spillages, decontamination, handling of specimens, handling sharps and clinical waste, etc

o Maintaining up-to-date knowledge on health and safety protocol

o Attending mandatory training when required

Maintenance of stock and supplies, including clinical supplies, vaccines, and health information literature, and providing timely and accurate purchasing

records to the practice manager

Maintenance of clinical equipment, including contributing to the care and calibration of equipment, managing repairs and regular maintenance, and ensuring accurate record-keeping

Perform other non-clinical duties as required, within the scope of the practice nurses competencies and training.

2. Personal and professional development

Comply with the Nursing and Midwifery Council Code of Conduct and maintain up-to-date registration and documentation.

Act as a mentor and positive role model to students and more junior members of staff, sharing information and good practice.

Prioritise own workload and collaborate effectively with others to prioritise team and practice workload.

Undertake training as required to ensure competencies for delivering all responsibilities, including attending, and contributing to in-house training, and including (but not limited to):

o Maintaining personal development and CPD plans and records of learning, clinical supervision, appraisals of more junior staff and feedback on performance.

Keep up to date with current evidence-based approaches to patient care and service delivery, in line with NICE and the National Service Framework.

Undertake regular mandatory training, such as relating to emergency life support, manual lifting and handling, safeguarding vulnerable patients, child protection, etc.

Other important aspects of the role

1. Maintaining confidentiality

The practice nurse will, as an integral part of and while carrying out his/her role, have access to confidential and sometimes sensitive information relating to patients, carers and family members, as well as similar information about colleagues. The practice nurse might also have access to confidential commercial information about the practice and its business.

All such information, in whatever format and howsoever made available, must be treated with the strictest confidence. All such information held both within and outside of the practice will be shared only as necessary, and in accordance with the practices confidentiality/data sharing policies and in line with data protection legislation and the Freedom of Information Act.

2. Equality and diversity

The practice nurse will comply with the practices own Equality and Diversity Policy and legislation relating to equality and diversity, including (but not limited to):

Recognising the rights of patients, carers, family members and colleagues, and respecting their needs, beliefs, privacy, and dignity.

Not discriminating against patients, carers, family members or colleagues on the grounds of any of the protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010 (or its amendments or later legislation).

Supporting people who need help understanding and exercising their rights.

Acting as a role model in relation to promoting equality, diversity, and non-discriminatory practices.

Identifying discriminatory practices and patterns of discrimination, taking appropriate action to tackle it, and instead promoting equality.

Complying with, promoting, and evaluating chaperoning policies.

Recognising and promoting the right of patients to choose their care provider, and to participate in or refuse care.

3. Key relationships and contacts

Internal

o Partners

o Other GPs

o Lead practice nurse

o Healthcare assistants

o Clinical staff in training

o Practice manager

o Reception and administration staff

External

o Patients

o Patients carers and family members

o Community nursing and pharmacy teams

o Suppliers

o External trainers

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Current NMC registration
• RGN
• Diabetes Care
• Wound management
• Hypertension management

Desirable

• Qualification and/or experience in
• Asthma
• COPD
• Travel Health
• Cervical cytology
• Family planning, sexual health and contraception
• Ear irrigation

Experience

Essential

• Practice Nurse experience
• Working in Primary Care
• Experience of using Systmone
• Chronic disease management (Diabetes)
• Vaccine & Immunisation
• Infection Control & Prevention management experience

Desirable

• Three years post registration experience
• Ear care

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

The Green House Surgery

Address

Redcar Primary Care Hospital

West Dyke Road

Redcar

Teesside

TS10 4NW

Employer's website

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