Practice Nurse

Job responsibilities

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

a. To act as the Infection Prevention Control (IPC) lead and to work to the IPC Policy providing audits, training, support and evidence of compliance to the practice manager

b. To produce the IPC annual statement in conjunction with the practice manager

c. To develop, implement and embed health promotion and well-being programmes

d. To implement and evaluate individual treatment plans for chronic disease patients

e. To identify, manage and support patients at risk of developing long term conditions, preventing adverse effects to patients health

f. To provide routine nursing care to patients as required in accordance with clinical based evidence, NICE and the NSF

g. To provide wound care (ulcer/Doppler etc.) to patients

h. To provide travel medicine services

i. To request pathology services as necessary

j. To process pathology results as required

k. To provide chronic disease clinics, delivering patient care as necessary, referring patients to secondary/specialist care as required

l. To maintain accurate clinical records in conjunction with extant legislation

m. To ensure read codes are used effectively

n. To maintain chronic disease registers

o. To develop, implement and embed well woman clinics

p. To develop, implement and embed well man clinics

q. To chaperone patients where necessary

r. To assist GPs with minor surgery when required

s. To prioritise health issues and intervene appropriately

t. To support the team in dealing with clinical emergencies

u. To recognise, assess and refer patients presenting with mental health needs

v. To implement vaccination programmes for adults and children

w. To support patients in the use of their prescribed medicines or over the counter medicines (within own scope of practice)

x. To liaise with external services/agencies to ensure the patient is supported appropriately (vulnerable patients etc.)

y. To delegate clinical responsibilities appropriately (ensuring safe practice and the task is within the scope of practice of the individual)

z. To support the clinical team with all safeguarding matters in accordance with local and national policies

aa. To understand practice and local policies for substance abuse and addictive behaviour, referring patients appropriately

bb. To deliver opportunistic health promotion where appropriate

In addition to the primary responsibilities, the practice nurse may be requested to:

a. Act as the audit lead, effectively utilising the audit cycle

b. Monitor and ensure the safe storage, rotation and disposal of medicaments

c. Support junior members of the nursing team, providing guidance when necessary

d. Participate in local initiatives to enhance service delivery and patient care

e. Support and participate in shared learning within the practice

f. Continually review clinical practices, responding to national policies and initiatives where appropriate

g. Participate in the review of significant and near-miss events applying a structured approach, i.e. root cause analysis (RCA)

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered nurse
• Wound care/removal of sutures and staples
• ECGs
• Venepuncture
• New patient medicals
• Chaperone procedure
• Requesting pathology tests and processing the results, advising patients accordingly
• Travel medicine
• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Asthma
• Spirometry
• CHD
• Immunisations (routine, childhood and travel)
• Womens health (cervical cytology, contraception, etc.)
• Understanding the importance of evidence based practice
• Broad knowledge of clinical governance
• Ability to record accurate clinical notes
• Ability to work within own scope of practice and understand when to refer to GPs
• Understanding of infection prevention and control measures
• Knowledge of public health issues in the local area
• Awareness of issues within the wider health arena
• Knowledge of health promotion strategies
• Understand the requirement for PGDs and associated policy

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working in a primary care environment
• Experience of working as a practice nurse or community nurse
• Experience of chronic disease management
• Experience of infection prevention and control measures

Desirable

• Interest in Diabetes or COPD would be desirable

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).