Practice nurse

The post holder isresponsible for the delivery of basic practice nursing services care to thepractice population. Supported by senior clinicians within the practice, thepost holder will deliver care within the boundaries of their role, focusingupon supporting patients to be healthy, monitoring of long-term conditions,health prevention and screening activities. They will work collaboratively withthe general practice team to meet the needs of patients, supporting thedelivery of policy and procedures.

Main duties of the job The post-holder will be responsible for managing all the usual practice nurse tasks - including:

• smear tests
• child & adult immunisations
• supporting people with their chronic diseases e.g. diabetes, asthma, COPD
• blood tests
• vaccinations (including managing the PGDs)
• wound management
• ear syringing

About us Fairfield Medical Centre is a well-established, friendly, forward thinking training practice and has a well organised and dedicated team, with strong nursing and administrative support.

The Practice:

• GMS practice
• Training practice
• Five partners, two salaried GPs, an advanced nurse practitioner, a paramedic practitioner, 1 practice nurse, 2 HCAs, 1 first contact physiotherapist, 2 clinical pharmacists and 2 pharmacy technicians
• A dedicated administrative team
• High QOF achievers
• EMIS Web clinical system
• CQC rating good on all indicators

Job responsibilities Key Responsibilities

a. Clinical practice

• Assess, plan, develop, implement and evaluate programmes to promote health and well-being, and prevent adverse effects on health and well-being
• Implement and evaluate individual treatment plans for patients with a known long-term condition (particularly diabetes / COPD / asthma)
• Identify, and manage as appropriate, treatment plans for patients at risk of developing a long-term condition
• Support and manage health needs of women presenting for cervical cytology consultations
• Support and advise women needing checks or requesting information relating to HRT and family planning needs
• Assess and care for patients presenting with uncomplicated wounds
• Implement and participate in vaccination and immunisation programmes for both adults and children
• Advise, support and, where appropriate, administer NHS vaccinations for patients travelling abroad
• Promote and deliver evidence-based care for patients presenting with hearing conditions
• Provide information and advice on prescribed or over-the-counter medication on medication regimens, side effects and interactions
• Support patients to adopt health promotion strategies that promote patients to live healthily, and encourage principles of self care
• Recognise, assess and refer patients presenting with mental health needs in accordance with the National Service Framework (NSF) for Mental Health
• 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 encourage patients to live healthily, and apply principles of self care
• Deliver opportunistic health promotion using opportunities such as new patient medicals
• Assist senior practitioners in providing minor surgery sessions

b. Communication

• Utilise and demonstrate sensitive communication styles, to ensure patients are fully informed and consent of treatment
• Communicate with and support patients who are receiving bad news
• Communicate effectively with patients and carers, recognising the need for alternative methods of communication to overcome different levels of understanding, cultural background and preferred ways of communicating
• Utilise communication skills to support patients to adhere to prescribed treatment regimens
• Anticipate barriers to communication and take action to improve communication
• Estimate and maintain effective communication with individuals and groups within the practice environment and with external stakeholders
• Act as an advocate when representing the patients and colleagues viewpoints to others

c. Delivering a quality service

• Recognise and work within own competence and professional code of conduct as regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
• Produce accurate and complete records of patient consultations, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures
• Prioritise, organise and manage own workload in a manner that maintains and promotes quality
• Deliver care according to the NSF and the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines and evidence-based care
• Assess effectiveness of care delivery through self and peer review, benchmarking and formal evaluation
• Participate in the maintenance of quality governance systems and processes across the practice and its activities
• Utilise the audit cycle as a means of evaluating the quality of the work of self and the team, implementing improvements where required
• In partnership with other clinicians, collaborate on improving the quality of health care, responding to local and national policies and initiatives as appropriate
• Evaluate the patients response to health care provision and the effectiveness of care
• Support and participate in shared learning across the practice and wider organisation
• Participate in the management, review and identify learning from patient complaints, clinical incidents and near miss events utilising a structured framework (e.g. root cause analysis)
• Participate in the performance monitoring review of the team, providing feedback as appropriate
• Understand and apply legal policy that supports the identification of vulnerable and abused children and adults, being aware of statutory child/vulnerable adult health procedure and local guidance
• Work within policies relating to domestic violence, vulnerable adults, substance abuse and addictive behaviour, and refer as appropriate

d. Personal and people development

• Take responsibility for own development, learning and performance including participating in clinical supervision and acting as a positive role model
• Support the development of others 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
• Encourage others to make realistic self assessment of their application of knowledge and skills, challenging complacency and actions that are not in the interest of the public and/or users of services
• Understand own responsibilities and accountability in the delivery of GPN services to patients, ensuring that the needs of the patient are the priority
• Participate in planning and implementing changes within the area of care and responsibility
• Work with other nurses and practice team to ensure sufficient staff of appropriate ability, quality and skill mix are available to meet the needs of patients
• Contribute and participate in the development of local guidelines, protocols and standards
• Critically evaluate and review innovations and developments that are relevant to own practice
• Understand own role and scope in the practice and identify how this may develop over time
• Work as an effective and responsible team member, supporting others and exploring the mechanisms to develop new ways of working
• Delegate clearly and appropriately, adopting the principles of safe practice and assessment of competence of those taking on delegated duties
• Ensure clear understanding and utilisation of referral mechanisms within the practice
• Accept delegation from other team members, prioritise own workload and ensure effective time management strategies are embedded in own practice

f. Management of risk

• Manage and assess risk within the areas of responsibility, ensuring adequate measures are in place to protect staff and patients
• Monitor work areas and practices to ensure they are safe and free from hazards and conform to health, safety and security legislation, policies, procedures and guidelines
• Ensure safe storage, rotation and disposal of vaccines and drugs is undertaken. Where appropriate, oversee the monitoring, stock control and documentation of controlled drug usage according to legal requirements
• Undertake mandatory and statutory training
• Apply infection control measures within the practice according to local and national guidelines
• Use technology as an aid to management in planning, implementation and monitoring, presenting and communicating information

h. Learning and development

• Act as mentor to HCAs, assessing competence against set standards as requested and if appropriately qualified
• Disseminate learning and information gained to other team members in order to share good practice and inform others about current and future developments
• Assess own learning needs and undertake learning as appropriate
• Make effective use of learning opportunities within and outside the workplace, evaluating their effectiveness and feeding back relevant information
• Provide an educational role to patients, carers, families and colleagues in an environment that facilitates learning

i. Equality and diversity

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