Download Senior Practice Nurse Job Description

LONSDALE MEDICAL CENTRE: JOB DESCRIPTION
GP PRACTICE NURSE
Job Purpose: This position in the practice aims to provide provision of high quality nursing care to
meet the needs of the practice population; which includes treatment, screening, preventative care,
patient education, clinical quality systems maintenance; and the supervision of any less qualified
clinical colleagues, while working in partnership with other clinical, management and administrative
colleagues to meet stated practice developmental goals.
Key responsibilities:
Clinical:
It is accepted that all clinical skills and competencies may not be available on joining. Training will be
available if required and agreed.
















To provide basic and higher levels of nursing care as needed for patients.
To provide care for minor injuries, dressings, including pressure bandaging and higher level
wound care, liaising directly, where appropriate with community and secondary care counterparts, escalating to a GP as necessary and also provide supervision for less qualified nursing
colleagues in the practice.
To do cervical cytology sampling, immunisations as outlined by national programmes and local
guidelines, working closely with the nursing, clinical and admin team to create systems to identify
patients who are in need of such services and promoting the service hard to reach patients.
To support and eventually lead the annual flu campaign and other mass population vaccination
programmes as needed in line with national guidance.
To conduct family planning consultations and assist the GP’s in providing LARC services.
To assist in the provision of procedures such as minor surgery.
To act as a chaperone or similar support for other colleagues as needed.
To conduct and eventually supervise other colleagues in anthropometric measurements, blood
pressure, spirometry, urinalysis, phlebotomy, microbiology samples, ECG, ABPM, peak flow and
other practice based tests as needed in the course of the care of patients.
To carry out health checks in conjunction with national, local and practice initiatives, setting up
and maintaining a system for identifying patients in the target group for such checks.
To conduct and eventually develop plans to supervise other members of the nursing staff
conducting new patient interviews, providing education to patients on practice and local health
services, identifying patients at risk of adverse health behaviours such as physical inactivity,
smoking, alcohol and other substance use and referring appropriately to others if needed using
protocols and standard that you help to establish.
To conduct and eventually develop plans to supervise other nursing and practice staff in the
provision of a smoking cessation service in the practice.
To provide patient health promotion/ disease prevention education and counselling focusing on
health behaviour change.
To provide and eventually supervise the provision of travel advice service and travel
immunisations to patients of the practice in accordance with practice protocols.
To triage patients in person or over the phone to the appropriate member of clinical staff
(doctors, nurses, phlebotomists, counsellors, chemists etc.) with the appropriate skills to meet a
patient’s stated needs.
To assist members of the clinical team in providing a seamless service through an illness episode
providing specific nursing capabilities and directing the nursing component of any illness episode.
To liaise with community nursing colleagues to continue the provision of nursing care in the
home if patients are unable to attend the practice and to transfer or share care as appropriate,
visiting outside the practice if needed on exceptional circumstances to meet the needs of
patients.
Page 1 of 4
LONSDALE MEDICAL CENTRE: JOB DESCRIPTION










To provide support to the GP’s in the management of chronic diseases such as diabetes, COPD,
Asthma, Hypertension etc. by providing specifically defined clinical sessions, working closely with
the GP to manage a patients overall care.
To eventually manage and maintain chronic disease registers and work with admin staff to
construct and maintain robust call and recall systems for chronic disease, cervical cytology,
mammography, immunisation and other populations based health promotion and disease
prevention care programmes, escalating where necessary patients who need intervention from a
GP to insure a review as appropriate, constructing and maintain care pathways where patients
receive appropriate investigations and reviews by an appropriate clinician at the appropriate time
interval.
To promote the health and well being of patients by counselling patients on the nature of their
conditions, the use of their medications, diet, exercise and other health behaviours.
To provide support and guidance to patients in times of crisis, breaking bad news where
necessary to patients and carers and provide on going support as needed.
To counsel patients on the meaning of test results and other medical information, conducting
phone and in person consultations; triaging patients to an appropriate clinician, finishing a line of
investigation, or arrange additional investigations as appropriate in line with practice guidelines
and protocols and in partnership with clinical colleagues.
To eventually establish and participate in a robust system of clinical audit in partnership with
other clinical and administrative colleagues, leading in areas appropriate, such as infection
control, to a nursing skill set and supporting in other areas such as medicines management.
To maintain a register of patients receiving nursing on going nursing care.
To assist in the identification of patients at risk of acute decompensation of their baseline state of
health and participate in measures needed to avoid emergency admissions and acute unplanned
activity.
To eventually provide leadership and support in all practice services, nGMS, LES, DES and other
incentive schemes.
To eventually provide nursing leadership and support in the development of new practice
services as needed.
Administrative:







To maintain accurate patient records, entering onto the practice system the appropriate agreed
codes, using agree standards of data entry, templates and protocols, completing all
documentation, computerised and paper-based, as is required for good patient care.
To eventually lead in the creation, maintenance, documentation and training of others in robust
systems of data collection, audit and review of all clinical activities, protocols, care pathways and
clinical systems, liaising with fellow colleagues in the practice and in the local and national health
system as needed to insure good patient care and service is maintained and to satisfy the
standards of external regulatory bodies such as the CQC etc.
To eventually lead, in partnership with other clinical and managerial staff, the necessary data
collection for QOF and other incentive schemes as needed by the practice, prompting other
members of the team as needed for assistance in gathering the required data.
To create and maintain in cooperation with other nursing and admin colleagues a system of
clinical stock and equipment maintenance, calibration, and supply; working closely with the
practice manager to insure cost efficient purchasing of perishable and expensive items.
To eventually be a leader in insuring that all statutory requirements are met for a safe and
therapeutic environment for patients and staff in cooperation with the practice manager and
practice services manager.
To maintain all documentation needed to carry out your clinical duties.
To participate in and eventually take the lead for Infection Control procedure and protocols and
their implementation within the practice.
Page 2 of 4
LONSDALE MEDICAL CENTRE: JOB DESCRIPTION
Leadership (possible future opportunity):






To be the main point of liaison for managerial matters concerning members of the nursing team
and work with the practice manager and practice services manager around any HR issues that
may arise concerning a member of the nursing staff.
To create a calendar of appraisal and training for the nursing team (and other clinical staff as
needed) insuring that statutory registrations and updates are up to date and appropriately
documented.
To create a development plan for self and the less qualified members of the nursing team,
personal development plans for it individual members and assist in the development and training
of the members of the nursing team and staff performing quasi-nursing duties (e.g. smoking
cessation) via in house training, external courses and other continuous professional development
activities, insuring it is documented appropriately.
To contribute to the development of the practice by participating in all clinical and managerial
meetings, attending the partners meetings when invited, and helping to construct practice
development plans as required.
To participate in, lead as required, and be aware of initiatives and programmes of the locality,
CCG and wider health care economy, making liaisons with other nursing colleague in local
primary care, community and secondary care venues as required to meet the needs of the
practice.
To participate in and lead as required in the training of GP trainees, nurses, nursing students,
health care assistants, phlebotomists, receptionists and other staff as required by the practice.
There is an aspiration that the practice would become a training site for future practice nurses.
General:






To maintain your own annual registration with the NMC and adhere to its Code of Professional
Conduct.
Maintain any other required registrations and certifications necessary to fulfil your role.
To promote a professional approach at all times by dress and attitude to patients and staff, both
in and out of the Practice, setting an example for those under your direct authority and to the
team as a whole.
To maintain you own continuous CPD and insure a PDP is kept up to date in line with the practice
and nursing team development plans.
To participate in, eventually lead as required, and attend practice meetings and in-house training.
Provide appropriate constructive feedback to all members of the team and at times being
prepared to challenge your colleagues, clinical and administrative, to maintain high standards of
professionalism, patient care, service and excellence, prompting others to fulfil their own explicit
and implicit responsibilities to patients and colleagues.
You may be required to perform other duties from time to time to meet the needs of patients and
the practice.
Page 3 of 4
LONSDALE MEDICAL CENTRE: JOB DESCRIPTION
Probable Competencies Leading to Success in the Position and Future Development
These competencies will be developed, as required, through on-the-job work experience, and
in-practice and external training. The appointed candidate will be tasked with acquiring a
comprehensive range of competencies to help in their professional development and success as a
practice nurse.


























Ability work within a team and develop clinical, administrative and in due course leadership
competencies.
Ability to work in a team of experienced clinicians: including GP partners
Ability to work with colleagues of various levels and expertise
Ability to motivate change, speak to influence, provide constructive feedback and suggestions for
change on an interpersonal and systemic level.
Ability to think systemically and systematically
Ability to self-motivate, monitor performance and take action to maintain and improve personal
effectiveness and performance.
Ability to institute change, project manage and maintain systems after they are established.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills – articulate and persuasive - with the ability to
teach, train, coach and persuade colleagues of variable roles, levels of responsibility and
competencies.
Ability to prioritise and manage competing demands
Ability to accept and respond to ‘no-blame’ critical culture which seeks to learn from mistakes
and move on
Ability to work under pressure and manage personal stress
Sense of humour and the ability to not take oneself too seriously
Ability to self-monitor one’s own physical and psychological health, take steps to mitigate any
effect health may have on patient care, and ask for assistance as needed from colleagues, one’s
personal support system and personal GP.
A working knowledge of appraisal and HR processes.
High-level organisational skills, with competency in the use of most IM&T systems and paper
systems as required. Numerate and able to use Excel and other managerial, productivity software
Highly familiar with EMIS Web and other clinical support software.
Ability to carry out audits, systematic reviews, and inspections, documenting them appropriately
and presenting findings to the practice.
RGN Qualification
Accredited training in some CDM areas and willingness to become qualified in others, Diabetes
and COPD are desirable
Training in cervical smears
Up to date in childhood immunisations and influencing parents in their importance
Family planning training
Higher level wound management
Qualified to undertake all usual primary care tests & investigations including Phlebotomy,
Spirometry, ECG, ABPM, urinalysis etc.
If not holding the qualification, willingness to train as a nurse prescriber
If not holding a training qualification interested in undertaking one in the future.
Our equal opportunities policy aims to ensure no job applicant, employee or worker is discriminated
against either directly or indirectly on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage
and civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
Page 4 of 4