Nurse Practitioner

Job responsibilities

Provide the choice of direct access to an Nurse Practitioner, both in the practice, over the telephone and via home visits for the general practice population.

Make professionally autonomous decisions for which post holder is accountable.

Prescribe safe, effective and appropriate medication as defined by current legislative framework.

Provide a first point of contact within the Practice for patients presenting, both in the Practice and over the phone, for patients presenting with undifferentiated, undiagnosed problems, making use of skills in history taking, physical examination, problems solving and clinical decision making, to establish a diagnosis and care management plan.

Recognise and work within own competence and professional code of conduct as regulated by the NMC.

Produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete records of patient consultation, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures

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.

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.

Instigate necessary invasive and non-invasive diagnostic tests or investigations and interpret findings and reports.

Clinically examine and assess patient needs from a physiological and psychological perspective, and plan clinical care accordingly.

Provide safe, evidence based, cost-effective, individualised patient care.

Refer patients directly to other services and agencies as appropriate.

Provision of a holistic service to patients and their families, developing where appropriate an on-going plan or care and support, with an emphasis on prevention and self-care.

Contribute to the development and delivery of specialist primary care services, such as long term disease management.

Work with the Practice team to ensure that National Service Frameworks are being delivered.

Contribute to the practices achievement of its quality targets to maintain the high standards of patient care and service delivery.

Contribute to the development and set up of new patient services and participate in initiatives to improve existing patient services.

In partnership with other clinical teams, collaborate on improving the quality of health care responding to local and national policies and initiatives as appropriate

Support and participate in shared learning across the practice and wider organisation

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered General Nurse MSc or equivalent
• Independent Prescriber

Desirable

• Experience of working in Primary Care
• Advanced Nurse Practitioner qualification or equivalent experience

Knowledge & Skills

Essential

• Clinical examination skills
• National prescribing standards
• Management of patients with complex needs
• Knowledge of national standards that inform practice (National Service Frameworks, NICE guidelines, etc)
• Understanding accountability arising from NMC Code of Professional Conduct and medico-legal aspects of the role
• Understanding of equal opportunity and diversity issues
• Ability to manage patient risk effectively and safely
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills
• Reflective practice
• Excellent time management and conflict management skills
• Ability to analyse data and information, identifying implications for patient/care plan
• Ability to drive and have access to a car
• Well-developed IT skills
• Excellent communication skills
• Self motivated, reflective and positive
• Self directed practitioner
• Ability to prioritise workload
• Ability to be flexible in a changing environment
• Understanding and adhering to strict confidentiality
• Infection Control

Desirable

• Current primary care policies, national legislation, GP contracts, clinical governance and clinical commissioning.
• Collaborative working with GP team.
• Minor illness/injury qualification.
• Specialist courses relevant to primary care
• Previous general practice experience
• Training and recent updates on care of unwell adults/children and safeguarding
• Understanding of systems to gain an understanding of the health needs of the Practice population as they relate to primary care
• EMIS Web experience
• Ability to think strategically

Experience

Essential

• Significant post registration experience.
• Nurse led management of minor illness and ailments
• Nurse led triage.
• Evidence of working autonomously and as part of a team.
• Proven ability to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of own clinical practice.
• Experience ordering/interpreting diagnostics.

Desirable

• Experience working in a Primary Care 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).