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JOB DESCRIPTION
LAUDERDALE MEDICATION PRACTICE
& WHITESANDS MEDICAL PRACTICE
PRACTICE NURSE
The role of the Practice Nurse is wide and this document is merely to highlight the main areas of
work and is not meant to be fully comprehensive. For that reason the Practice Nurse may
undertake new areas of work for which she (or he) feels trained and qualified subject to the
approval of the medical staff. We recognise the skills that practice nursing brings to the medical
centre. We also recognise that the Practice nurses have autonomy and personal responsibility for
their own actions. We would ask that they use their own judgement wisely being careful not to put
the welfare of patients, themselves and other staff members at risk.
This description divides the various roles of the Practice Nurse into arbitrary areas for the sake of
convenience.
Planned / elective activities
Wound Care
Leg ulcer care: dressings
Post-operative: dressings, suture and clip removal, infections.
Post-traumatic: suture and staple removal, dressings, infections.
Burns/scalds: follow up.
Cardiovascular
BP monitoring.
ECG recording.
Cardiovascular risk clinics/education and lifestyle advice.
Respiratory
Asthma education, inhaler/nebuhaler technique, nebuliser instruction.
COPD; spirometry, smoking cessation, planned exercise, instruction in nebuliser use.
Diabetes
Diabetic clinic: education, home blood glucose monitoring, basic dietary and weight loss advice. Basic
footcare advice, neuro monitoring of feet and examination of foot pulses.
Gynaecology and Reproductive Health
Cervical smears, coil checks, depot contraception. General contraceptive advice and choices. Vaginal
swabs. Post coital contraception. Sexual health. Planned parenthood. Checks of oral contraceptive
use. Pregnancy test?
ENT - Ear syringing, throat swabs.
Dermatology - Dressings or bandaging.
Foreign Travel
Travel vaccinations and updating knowledge in a changing field. Lifestyle advice on holiday and
skincare. Yellow Fever vaccinations.
Health Promotion
Well woman clinics, well man clinics, weight reduction, smoking cessation advice, dietary cholesterol
and salt advice. New patient checks. Alcohol intake.
Standard Adult Vaccinations
Hepatitis B and prevention, tetanus and low dose diphtheria/tetanus, meningitis C, influenza,
pneumococcal. As per patient group directives or standard protocols.
Childhood immunizations - Vaccine administration as per the national recommendations.
Other Chronic Disease Management
Pernicious anaemia – vitamin B12 injections, rheumatoid – sustanon injections.
Other Routine Tasks - Urinalysis and recording of findings; Pregnancy tests; Venepuncture.
Acute tasks
Injuries: triage of acute injuries and dealing with those within the nurse’s clinical competence.
Providing first aid until further help arrives and assisting where appropriate.
Dealing with minor illnesses and offering appropriate advice or suggesting over the counter
medication.
Providing nebulisation, oxygen, CPR.
Helping patients exit the building in the event of fire or other evacuation.
Tasks with other health professionals
Minor surgery, coil fitting, suturing, patient immobilisation.
Joint clinics.
Learning disability team.
Diabetic clinic.
Administrative tasks
Storekeeping: ordering consumables – dressings, sutures.
Checking locum drugs.
Checking nurses’ store of drugs.
Reporting of damaged or defective items, replacing where appropriate.
Housekeeping: Vaccine fridge check, steriliser check. Computer entries and contemporaneous note
recording. Emptying specimen boxes.
Professional Development
Attending study days, mandatory fire training, CPR training and any other health and safety issues.
Audit: Recording useful data where appropriate. Other studies by agreement.