Community Registered Nurse

Job responsibilities

To undertake & to develop all nursing skills & competencies as required for their role to enhance the skill mix of the nursing team ensuring that the ever-changing health needs of patients are met.

Able to provide the interface between hospital, primary care, community & social care settings.

Key Tasks &Responsibilities of the Post

Clinical

Provide holistic evidence based/best practice care to patients in accordance with National & Organisational approved policies/procedures & individual care plans.

Be responsible for the assessing, planning, implementation & evaluation of care on a day-to-day basis. The work may be unpredictable, complex & often of a sensitive nature.

Work autonomously &unsupervised in the community setting, recognising the risks associated with lone working, both clinically, socially & work proactively to reduce those risks.

Work as an autonomous practitioner, managing &prioritising delegated workload according to local guidelines & identified need. Working in a variety of community settings, exercising a high level of judgement, discretion & decision making in clinical care.

Work within challenging & unpredictable environments e.g. patients homes, which may have constraints & require adaptability

Responsibility for the specialist assessment & co-ordination of planned care to individual patients in conjunction with patients & carers.

Supporting other members of the team in their planning of patient care.

Provides support & advice to patients carers & relatives (on patients conditions & prognosis) where appropriate.

Responsibility for reviewing care delivery & maintaining records in accordance with local & with NMC guidelines.

Maintain accurate records, which are confidential, up to date, legible & that all care given must be documented. These records may be paper or IT based system & must be maintained as specified in the Organisation Policies, NMC guidelines & Government directives.

You will be expected to oversee the standard of patients records by audit or peer review & have regular open discussions with team members.

Works as part of a multi-disciplinary team

Acts as patient representative to facilitate appropriate care pathways which involves effective communication to peers, other specialist practitioners, GPs & Consultants.

Delivery of Direct Care

To assess, plan & evaluate care provided for patients.

Participates in monitoring of evidence-based standards through research, clinical trials, audits & staff initiatives.

Initiates prescribed care in conjunction with Team Manager/Consultant/GP & other clinicians.

Without direct supervision & reporting directly to Consultant Physician or GP will work towards undertaking care delivery involving an extensive range of activities including:

Subcutaneous/intramuscular, therapy &diabetic injections

Administration of medication

Acute and chronic disease management

Assisting the multi-disciplinary team in palliative care (EOL)

Acute/chronic pain management

Facilitating appropriate care for elimination needs (Bowel & catheter management)

Wound assessments & management

Management of surgical drainage systems

Blood glucose monitoring

Health promotion

Acting as a formal mentor to pre-registration nursing students

Adopting link roles

Intravenous drug therapy

Administration of Nebulised drugs

Administration of oxygen therapy

Undertaking investigative procedures to support diagnosis, including ECG

Computer skills

Liaising with & referring on to other agencies & professionals.

Pulse oximetry and interpretation

Recognising & managing emergency situations e.g. treatment of anaphylaxis (using Patient Group Directions PGD) & cardiac/respiratory arrest/Sepsis

Undertake & interpret acute observations using an appropriate tool e.g. News 2, ABCDE

Blood tests for monitoring

Management of Lines e.g., TIVAD, PICC & Midline

Management &Leadership:

Have on-going responsibility & duty of care for patients, staff, self & others in all aspects of Health, Safety & Risk.

Act as a role model, promoting good performance & practice.

Participate in team activities to develop & consolidate a cohesive & supportive team ensuring openness within the team.

Participate in recruitment & selection of new staff.

Reporting of all incidents & near misses. Supporting team manager in investigations of incidents. Report to line manager any untoward incidents e.g., complaints, accidents, defective equipment & take appropriate action to ensure safety of patients, relatives, self & colleagues and follow up with appropriate documentation.

Inform Band 6 or 7 of any on-going nursing/management issues affecting patient care or working capacity.

Be aware of pressures facing your work colleagues & offer support & ensure they are aware of additional support that may be available to them.

To be responsible for the procurement & monitoring of equipment for patients on caseload.

You will be required to use a computer, being responsible for timely recording patient activities for IT data collection, dealing with e-mail queries, stock & equipment ordering.

To preserve confidentiality & comply with of the Data Protection Act, Access to Health Records and Consent for Treatment

To have a flexible approach to the working day to meet the needs of the patient/service.

Professional

To work within the NMC code & fulfil revalidation requirements.

Act as a role model for all staff & students demonstrating clinical skills & high standards of practice & professional conduct.

To remain updated & competent & ensure that clinical practice is evidence based.

To have an up-to-date personal development plan & professional portfolio.

To participate in an annual appraisal of their work in line with the Knowledge & Skills Framework (KSF) where the job description will be reviewed & objectives set. In line with the annual development plan the post holder will be expected to undertake any training or development required to fulfil their role.

Undertake regular clinical supervision.

Education &Training

Support the team manager in providing and maintaining a learning environment and maximise opportunities for education & development in the clinical are to enhance individual development & performance in the delivery of high standards of care.

Take part in the process of clinical supervision & support clinical supervision for junior team members.

Take responsibility for your own personal & professional development; maintain competence, knowledge & skills commensurate with role.

To undertake all required training & competencies required for the role.

Maintain attendance at mandatory & statutory training as per organisation guidelines.

Integrate theory into practice by bringing new knowledge around acute care from training into the practice environment.

Act as a mentor for students & fulfil requirements of a practice placement.

To facilitate induction for new members of the team.

Act as a link nurse for speciality to enhance team education.

Research

Actively participate in audit as directed by the Team Manager.

Collect, collate & evaluate a range of information to support clinical & service audit. Maintain accurate & up to date patient records, data bases & specialist reporting in accordance with organisation policy & professional guidance.

Support the team manager in working towards the achievement of specific performance targets related to acute care team.

Communication

Use a high level of communication skills daily with patients, carers & relatives to encourage concordance with care planning & agreed outcomes.

Use a high level of communication/negotiation skills daily with other health &social care professionals. To inform each, as appropriate, of the highly complex and sensitive information related to patients condition required to achieve the best outcomes & care pathways.

Show empathy & sensitivity when dealing with life threatening illnesses or other sensitive health related problems of patients, relatives & carers.

Ensure effective & timely information exchange is maintained, verbally, written or electronically.

Will be expected to liaise with: people with acute & chronic diseases, relatives & carers, members of the public, consultants, GPs & any other medical nursing or therapy staff. Community & Acute providers, Intermediate Care Service staff, Social Services, other specialist practitioner, statutory & voluntary organisations.

Provide & receive complex, sensitive, or contentious information where persuasive, motivational, negating, empathetic & reassurance skills are required verbal & non-verbal, as well as written & electronic to communicate effectively with patients, carers & GPs. This will include patients who may have difficulty understanding or communicating e.g., patients may be dysphasic, depressed, deaf & blind or may have difficulty accepting diagnoses.

Able to provide the interface between hospital & primary, community & social care settings in reaching to inpatient facilities to facilitate discharge to community.

Demonstrate highly developed communication skills required to take a lead role in case discussions/case conferences concerning service users in their caseload.

Act as patient advocate as required to ensure individual needs, preferences & choices are delivered.

Support the team manager in communication & promotion of the service.

Support the team manager in development, implementation &evaluation of protocols, guidelines, policies, integrated pathways & tools.

Knowledge

Essential

• Background knowledge of nursing and health care. Government Policies relating to acute care in the community.
• Understanding of Clinical Governance.
• Understanding of clinical supervision and continued professional development.
• Understanding of team function
• Overview of Acute Discharge process and community nursing
• Current and up to date knowledge of Code of Conduct (NMC)

Desirable

• Knowledge of Secondary & Primary Care Sector
• Basic knowledge of Acute and Long-Term Conditions

Skills

Essential

• To be able to respond to urgent calls in different parts of the city
• Strong evidence of Acute Care background and skills
• Working without supervision
• Evidence of autonomous practice
• Clinical Risk Management
• End of Life Care
• Emergency Care Management
• Infection control experience
• Evidence of recent study
• Acute care assessment skills
• Excellent communication skills
• Computer literacy
• Good time management
• Delegation skills
• Managing care of infections
• Intravenous/subcutaneous/central line management skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Organisational skills
• Ability to discuss complex patient care with senior clinicians
• Non judgemental
• Ability to motivate others
• Flexible/adaptable
• Ability to prioritise
• Leadership, co-ordination and management skills

Desirable

• Previous triage experience
• Respiratory background
• Cardiac background
• Alert Aim-Impact etc course
• Wound care background
• Surgical background
• Venepuncture & cannulation skills

Behavioural Attributes & Competencies

Essential

• Familiar with and committed to the principles and values of the NHS.
• Demonstrate commitment to and focus on quality, promotes high standards to consistently improve patient outcomes.
• Consistently put clinicians at the heart of decision making.
• Creates and fosters a culture of openness, honesty, integrity and inclusiveness.
• Values diversity and difference.
• Uses evidence to make improvements and seeks out innovation.
• Demonstrates commitment to partnership working.
• Flexible approach to working.
• Attention to detail.
• Highly motivated with ability to influence and inspire others.
• Outcomes focused.
• Ability to act as a champion for patients/carers and their interests, ensuring the patients voice has an impact on service developments.

Qualifications

Essential

• NMC Registered Nurse (Adults) Relevant post registration courses/knowledge base relevant to the post.
• Ability to frequently travel independently and in a timely manner between Livewell Southwest sites and community locations including areas not served by public transport.

Desirable

• Recognised teaching or mentorship qualification at degree level or equivalent Non-medical prescribing

Experience

Essential

• Experience in clinical assessment
• Experience or understanding of community working
• Experience of a variety of healthcare settings

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).