Advanced Nurse Practitioner

Job responsibilities

The post holder will provide clinical care within a team consisting of General Practitioners, Advanced Health Professionals and Practice Nurses. Patient contact will be via both telephone and face to face appointments with the addition of on-call duties and home visits on occasion.

The post holder should be able to see all patients that present including Children, Adults and those experiencing mental health challenges.

Carry out clinical nursing practice at an advanced level using expert clinical skills, critical judgements and knowledge to deliver appropriate and safe care.

Delivery of care in line with NSF, NICE guidelines and evidence based-based care.

Consult with and treat patients, performing specialist assessment of their needs and make referrals as necessary to other members of the Primary and Secondary care Health Care Team as appropriate.

Co-ordinate the planning and delivery of care ensuring patients and carers/relatives are involved.

Prescribing and reviewing medication that is appropriate to patient needs and in accordance with latest evidence-based practice, national and practice protocols and within scope of qualified practice.

Diagnose and manage acute and chronic conditions, including drug and non-drug based treatment methods into a management plan.

Request diagnostic investigations and interpret within agreed protocols e.g. X-ray, blood tests, scans etc.

Assess, diagnose and treat patients in practice premises or their own home who require medical attention and/or refer to appropriate agency.

Refer patients to other members of the multi-disciplinary practice team, secondary care organisations and other organisations as necessary.

Care Management

Communicate confidential and sensitive information to patients, relatives and carers in relation to their concern.

Provide highly specialised care advice beyond the scope of normal Nursing practice e.g. care treatment plans, making referrals as appropriate (including fast track referrals).

Contribute to local and national practice targets clinical remits e.g. QOF, prescribing incentive scheme, national benchmarking.

Monitor and meet care outcomes against standards and recommend or initiate changes as necessary.

Health Improvement

Management of health screening programmes to ensure other team members are aware of health priorities and screening objectives and programmes.

Innovation in practice to meet ongoing demands on the practices delivery of care.

Improve health outcomes for patients by introducing new developments and demonstrate them as reports and presentations where appropriate.

Support practitioners in reporting the practice population to promote health improvement and disease prevention.

Make referrals to appropriate agencies (statutory and voluntary) where necessary.

Provide assessment, screening service and health education advice:

These may include but are not restricted to;

Blood pressure checks

Urinalysis

Ear syringing

Dressings

Contraception/fitting contraceptive devices

Routine immunisations and vaccinations

Removal of sutures, clips

First registration checks, health surveillance, general health advice

Assisting with minor procedures in the treatment room

Administration and professional responsibilities

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

Participate in the administrative and professional responsibilities of the practice team

Create accurate and legible notes of all consultations and treatments recorded on patients notes

Ensure clinical systems are kept up to date, recording and/or amending accurate details

Ensure appropriate items of service claims are made accurately, reporting any problems to the Practice Manager

Ensure accurate completion of all necessary documentation associated with patient health care and registration with the practice

Attend and participate in practice meetings as required

Restocking of clinical areas and consulting rooms

Training and personal development

Maintain up to date skills and knowledge, maintaining awareness of professional issues at an advanced level

Training needs will be monitored by yearly appraisal and will be in accordance with practice requirements. Personal development will be encouraged and supported by the practice

Assess effectiveness of care delivery through self-reflection and peer review, as well as benchmarking and formal evaluation

Contribute to the identification and effectiveness of staff and other professionals and assist in planning effective programmes of education

Participate in the education and training of students of all disciplines and the introduction of all members of the practice staff where appropriate

Act as a mentor for junior staff

Take responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrate skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work and ensure own educational commitment is at least sufficient to maintain revalidation requirements

Develop and maintain a personal development plan

Regularly participate in clinical supervision

Leadership personal and people development

Act as a clinical leader in the delivery of practice nursing services, ensuring that the needs of the patient are a priority

Support staff development in order to maximise potential

Actively promote the workplace as a learning environment, encouraging everyone to learn from each other and from external good practice

Critically evaluate and review innovations and developments that are relevant to the area of work

Take part in recruitment processes where appropriate

Maintain effective communication and active involvement in the planning and processes of practice-based commissioning initiatives

Promote the role of the Advanced Nurse Practitioner in General Practice

Develop and maintain practice policies and protocols for all nursing activities alongside the Practice Manager

Support in the management of infection control in the practice and ensure all staff are aware of current procedures

Ensure agreed practice audits are carried out

Ensure the Practice Manager is aware of any matters arising or problems/potential problems

Ensure all surgery-produced nursing leaflets are kept up to date

Quality Requirements:

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

Experience

Essential

• Working autonomously in and Advanced Nursing role
• Non-medical prescriber
• Able to see all patients including Children, Adults and patients experiencing mental health challenges
• Experience of using EMIS
• Experience of using Docman

Desirable

• Experience working within Primary Care or General Practice
• Experience of case management

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered first level Nurse MSc or equivalent
• Relevant Nursing/Health degree
• Independent prescribing qualification
• Long term conditions qualification

Desirable

• Mentor/teaching qualification

Personal, Analytical and Communication Skills

Essential

• Ability to analyse and interpret complex/often incomplete information, pre-empt and evaluate issues and recommend an appropriate course of action to address the issues
• Strong and inspirational leadership
• Ability to co-ordinate and prioritise workloads
• Able to multi-task as well as be self-disciplined and highly motivated
• Excellent time keeping skills
• Commitment to quality and best practice
• Flexible and adaptable
• Team player
• Excellent interpersonal and organisational skills
• Excellent communication skills, able to influence and persuade others articulating a balanced view and able to constructively question information
• Ability to negotiate effectively
• Build effective relationships with a range of stakeholders which are based on openness, honesty, trust and confidence

Desirable

• Independent thinking and good judgement, problem-solving and analytical
• Experience of clinical audits
• High degree of personal credibility, emotional intelligence, patients and flexibility
• Ability to cope with unpredictable situations
• Confident in facilitating and challenging others
• Demonstrate a flexible approach in order to ensure patient care is delivered
• Clear communication with excellent writing, report writing and presentation skills; capable of constructing and delivering clear ideas and concepts concisely and accurately for diverse audiences
• Evidence of inspiring and motivating teams with the ability to communicate passionately, effectively and across a diverse set of stakeholders

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).