Practice Nurse

Job responsibilities

Practice Nurse

27 Hours per week - Monday to Friday (times to be agreed)

Help the Practice develop and deliver specialist primary nurse led services including chronic disease management.

Manage programs of care for patients with chronic diseases by planning, providing, and evaluating care under agreed guidelines and patient group directions.

Maintain disease registers in liaison with administrative staff.

Assist in and perform routine tasks related to patient care as directed by the senior nursing staff and GPs

Wound and ulcer care

Removal of sutures

New patient medicals

Urinalysis / ECGs / Asthma / peak flow readings /Venepuncture / Hypertension management

Catheter care

Participate in cold chain audit for vaccinations

Blood glucose and ketones monitoring

Immunisations

Intramuscular injections

Cytology

Chaperoning and assisting patients where appropriate who are being examined by another clinician

Assisting GPs with minor surgery clinics

Requesting pathology tests, for example urine culture and swabs

Following agreed clinical protocols with referral to senior nurses or GPs as appropriate

Maintaining and cleaning equipment used by the nurses and GPs

Maintaining emergency equipment and drugs

Maintaining general tidiness and cleanliness of nurses and treatment rooms

Maintain stock of waiting room leaflets as instructed by the senior Practice nurse, Business Manager or partners

Ordering of health promotion literature

Ordering of stock from the district hospital

Ordering of vaccines to maintain stock levels

Participation in administrative systems in the Practice

Maintain accurate records

Advise senior nurses of potential problems or errors within the range of assigned tasks

Attend and participate in any Practice meetings when required

Undertake home visits, on occasion, if required for flu or Covid vaccinations

Mentorship and training of student nurses and trainee GPs

Any other delegated duties appropriate to the post

The post-holder will be required to work independently

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

Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development

Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work

Taking responsibility for all mandatory training you are required to undertake in the required timescale, such as Basic Life Support and Anaphylaxis.

The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the Practice, and will:

Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk

Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision

Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teams performance

Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs

Effectively manage own time, workload and resources

The post-holder should recognize the importance of effective communication within the team and will:

Communicate effectively with other team members

Communicate effectively with patients and carers

Recognize peoples needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly

Apply Practice policies, standards and guidance

Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work

Participate in audit where appropriate

Using personal security systems within the workplace according to Practice guidelines

Awareness of national standards of infection control and cleanliness and regulatory, contractual, professional requirements and good Practice guidelines

Responsible for the correct and safe management of the specimens process including collection, labelling, handling, use of correct and clean containers, storage and transport arrangements

Ownership of infection control and clinically based patient care protocols, and implementation of those protocols

Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks across clinical and patient process

Safe management of sharps procedures including training, use, storage and disposal

Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy, clean, sterile and safe way, free from hazards.

Actively identifying, reporting and correction of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised and escalation to responsible management

Undertake all mandatory training when required

A uniform must be worn and properly fastened at all times

Experience

Essential

• Working in accordance with the NMC Code of Professional Conduct
• Dealing with the public/patients
• Commitment to professional development and peer group learning

Desirable

• Using Vision or other clinical systems

Skills & Ability

Essential

• Able to work as part of an integrated multi-skilled team
• Ability to use own judgement, resourcefulness and common sense
• Able to use own initiative, work without direct supervision and determine own workload priorities
• Able to work under pressure and in a changing environment

Desirable

• Experience of Primary Care
• Experience of teaching or mentoring
• Able to use Microsoft Office software

Personal Qualities & Attributes

Essential

• An understanding, acceptance and adherence to the need for strict confidentiality
• Pleasant and articulate
• Reliable

Other

Essential

• Flexible approach to working

Desirable

• Full driving licence

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered General Nurse
• NMC registered
• CPD evidence

Desirable

• Respiratory or Diabetes qualification (or willing to work towards)
• Cytology
• Travel vaccines

Knowledge

Essential

• Competency in basic nursing duties for the post
• Knowledge of patient group directives
• Awareness of clinical governance issues in Primary Care

Desirable

• Diabetes management
• Knowledge and understanding of the range of Primary Care and community services
• Knowledge of Quality Assurance and Improvement Framework (QAIF)

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).