Community Sister / Charge Nurse / District Nurse

Job responsibilities

• In conjunction with other key professionals you will be accountable for a patient caseload and delegate responsibility to other professionals within the multidisciplinary team.
• To apply advanced assessment of physical, mental and social care needs to provide clinical care and health promoting interventions that help avoid unnecessary hospital admission.
• To interpret clinical signs and symptoms and diagnostic tests in order to develop a treatment plan and /or treatment in conjunction with medical practitioners as appropriate. Provide advanced clinical advice to the wider healthcare team to improve outcomes of patient care.
• Enable patients to be as independent as possible facilitating a range of self-management strategies.
• Ability to develop and analyse audit, interpret data and use findings to enhance clinical practice.
• Facilitate patients and their families to plan for the future and improve end of life care ensuring that choices are reflected in personalised care plans.
• Experience and knowledge of long term conditions management and the complex needs of patients and their carers in the community and acute setting, including experience and knowledge of palliative care.
• Facilitates learners and visitors to the service to access experiences which meet their needs, recognising the importance of information governance and patient privacy and dignity.
• Review medication and prescribe medicines via independent prescribing arrangements if post holder has non-medical prescribing qualification.

Qualifications

Essential

• RN Qualification / degree or diploma
• Post registration study or qualification
• Mentorship or equivalent / practice assessor
• Community specialist practice qualification (district nurse) or willing to achieve
• Leadership / Management course or willing to work towards physical assessment module or willing to work towards
• Case management / caseload management course or willing to achieve

Desirable

• Non-medical prescribing or willing to work towards

Experience

Essential

• Significant post registration clinical experience
• Significant experience of working within a community setting
• Evidence of up to date knowledge and clinical competences. Particularly in managing long term conditions.
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Evidence of team leadership ability
• Case and caseload management

Skills

Essential

• Good numeracy and literacy skills
• IT skills
• Advanced communication and negotiating skills
• Motivation interviewing skills
• Current knowledge of local and national policies informing health and social care
• Demonstrates leadership in practice and ability to manage a team including team dynamics, risk management and the ability to challenge practice
• Demonstrates an ability to apply research to practice
• Demonstrates competency in a range of skills including advanced assessment skills, which reflect the holistic and ongoing nature of assessment, wound management, cauterisation, medicines management and administration, palliative and end of life care and management of syringe drivers
• Demonstrates an ability to create complex care plans based on the needs of the individual, family, carers recognising the third sector support available in the area
• Knowledge of clinical governance/audit/supervision and professional codes of conduct
• Promote independence and choice in undertaking patient care
• Demonstrates knowledge of change management and the implications for teams and individuals
• Demonstrates public health agenda and making every contact count
• Recognising and managing issues which may impact on the health and wellbeing for self and team members. Referring to senior clinical/OH as indicated
• Demonstrates self-awareness and emotional intelligence
• Demonstrates knowledge of compassionate leadership
• Support new starters, students of all disciplines, post-registration learners and other visitors to the service to meet learning objectives and access appropriate experiences
• Create a learning environment through modelling and supporting staff to continuously develop

Desirable

• Knowledge of appraisal and supervision skills
• Knowledge of managing staff issues and escalation process for this

Other

Essential

• Car driver and access to a car for work purposes
• Ability to work in a flexible way and respond positively to change
• Ability to work autonomously and make own decisions
• IT literate or willing to develop

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).