Download Title: Senior Practice Nurse – Band 6

HAMPSTEAD GROUP PRACTICE
JOB DESCRIPTION
Title:
Senior Practice Nurse – Band 6
Accountable to:
Partners of the Practice and Practice Manager
Reports to:
Line Manager
Liaises with:
Patients and Users of the Practice
Medical and Nursing Teams
Reception and Administration Staff
Outside Agencies
Purpose & Objectives of the Role
The post holder is responsible for the management of nursing service delivery to the
whole practice population; both the management of long-term conditions and the
provision of preventative health care.
The nurse will: work autonomously, managing own workload within the limits of the
role, demonstrating clinical expertise & skilled decision-making in practice; work
collaboratively within the general practice team to meet service needs; lead in the
development & implementation of practice protocols; lead in clinical audit & utilise
benchmarking to ensure best practice.
Key responsibilities
Clinical
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Lead in the management of treatment plans appropriate to each patient;
demonstrating proficient needs-based assessment & evaluation skills
Prioritise health needs and intervene appropriately to assist the patient in
complex, urgent or emergency situations, including initiation of effective
emergency care
Manage service delivery to meet the needs of patients presenting for
opportunistic care
Manage nursing care delivery ensuring evidence-based practice in accordance
with statutory guidance
Encourage the support of patients to adopt health promotion strategies and
apply principles of effective self-care
March 2013
1
Communication
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Communicate effectively within the practice team & beyond upholding the
good reputation of the practice & maintaining professional standards
Communicate effectively with patients recognising potential barriers to
communication & the need for alternative methods to address different levels
of understanding, cultural background and preferred ways of communicating
Delivering a quality service
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Recognise and work within own competence & scope of practice; maintain
membership of governing regulatory body (NMC) & professional organisation
(RCN); adhering to the code of conduct & demonstrating professional
standards
Produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete records of patient
consultation, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures
Prioritise, organise and manage own workload effectively
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
Collaborate on improving the quality of health care in partnership with other
clinical teams, 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
Identify learning from clinical incidents and near-miss events using a
structured framework (eg root-cause analysis)
Assess the impact of policy implementation on care delivery
Participate in the performance monitoring review of the team, providing
feedback as appropriate
Leadership – personal and people development
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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 any complacency and actions that are not in
the interest of the public and/or users of services
Work with practice management to ensure sufficient staff of appropriate
ability, quality and skill-mix are available to meet current and future service
delivery
March 2013
2
Learning and development
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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
Provide an educational role to patients, carers, families and colleagues in an
environment that facilitates learning
Team working
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Understand own role and scope, 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
assessing competence
Ensure clear referral mechanisms are in place to meet patient need
Prioritise own workload and ensure effective time-management strategies are
embedded within the culture of the team
Work effectively with others to clearly define values, direction and policies
impacting upon care delivery
Participate in team activities that create opportunities to improve patient care
Management of risk
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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 legislation, policies, procedures and
guidelines
Ensure safe storage, rotation and disposal of vaccines and drugs
Support members of the nursing team to undertake mandatory and statutory
training requirements
Apply infection-control measures within the practice according to local and
national guidelines
Equality and diversity
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Act as a role model in the observance of equality and diversity good practice
Accept the rights of individuals to choose their care providers, participate in
care and refuse care
March 2013
3
Person specification
Criteria
Skills
Essential
Desirable
 Clinical leadership skills
 Clinical skills –
women’s health; child
immunisation;
vaccination; travel
health; ear care, chronic
disease management;
wound care; health
promotion.
 Change-management
skills
 Communication skills,
both written and verbal
 Negotiation and conflict
management skills
 Mentorship skills
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Experience
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Qualifications
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Other
March 2013
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Minimum 3 years post
registration experience
At least 2 years recent
primary and community
nursing experience
Experience of nurse-led
management of longterm
conditions
Experience of
implementing protocols
and clinical guidelines
Experience of quality
initiatives such as
clinical benchmarking
Relevant nursing/health
degree
Mentor/teaching
qualification
Clinical supervision
training and experience
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Audit experience
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Independent/supplementary
nurse prescribing qualification
Self-directed
practitioner
Highly motivated
Flexibility
Enthusiasm
Team player
4
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March 2013
Ability to work across
boundaries
5