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:

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

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

To request pathology services as necessary

To maintain accurate clinical records in conjunction with extant legislation

To ensure clinical codes are used effectively

To chaperone patients where necessary

To prioritise health issues and intervene appropriately

To support the team in dealing with clinical emergencies

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

To implement vaccination programmes for adults and children

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

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

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

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

To deliver opportunistic health promotion where appropriate

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Nurse (Nursing and Midwifery Council)
• Experience of working autonomously
• Understanding the importance of evidence-based practice
• Understand the requirement for PGDs and associated policy
• Ability to record accurate clinical notes
• Ability to work within own scope of practice and understanding when to refer to GPs
• Chaperone procedure
• Excellent communication skills (written and oral)
• Effective time management (planning and organising)
• Ability to work as a team member and autonomously
• Good interpersonal skills
• Problem solving and analytical skills
• Ability to follow clinical policy and procedure
• Polite and confident
• Flexible and co-operative
• High levels of integrity and loyalty
• Sensitive and empathetic in distressing situations
• Effectively able to communicate and understand the needs of the patient
• Commitment to ongoing professional development
• Punctual and committed to supporting the team effort
• Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check
• Meet the requirements and produce evidence for nurse revalidation
• Evidence of continuing professional development (CPD) commensurate with the role of a Practice Nurse

Desirable

• Mentor or teaching qualification
• Post graduate diploma or degree (Chronic Disease Management)
• Experience of working in a primary care environment
• Experience of chronic disease management
• Experience of working as a practice nurse or community nurse
• Experience of infection prevention and control measures
• Experience of managing elderly and housebound patients
• Experience of quality initiatives, i.e., benchmarking
• ECGs
• Venepuncture
• New patient health checks
• Requesting pathology tests
• Womens health (cervical cytology, contraception, etc.)
• Immunisations (routine, childhood and travel)
• Chronic disease management in [list as appropriate]
• Travel medicine
• Spirometry
• Broad knowledge of clinical governance
• Knowledge of public health issues in the local area
• Awareness of issues within the wider health arena
• Knowledge of health promotion strategies
• Strong IT skills
• Clear, polite telephone manner
• Motivated, forward thinker
• Problem solver with the ability to process information accurately and effectively, interpreting data as required
• Ability to work under pressure/in stressful situations
• Effectively utilise resources
• Flexibility to work outside of core office hours

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).