Vacancy: Practice Nurse

Practice Nurse

• Reports to: Nursing Operations Manager
• Responsible to: The partners directly in clinical and to the practice manager in administrative matters.

Main Purpose of Job

To be an actively participating member of the Primary Health Care Team, caring for practice patients including treatment, preventative care, screening, patient education and chronic disease management. Ensuring patient confidentiality in all matters.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

Care and assessment of practice patients:

• Assessment of the nursing needs of practice patients who either self-refer or are referred by another member of the practice team.  
• Provision of appropriate care/treatment in conjunction with GPs or other colleagues or independently as appropriate in accordance with practice policy and protocols.  
• Deal with the general nursing care of the patient within the surgery.  
• Duties include childhood immunisations, foreign travel vaccinations and advice, influenza and other vaccinations and cervical cytology.  Health promotion advice and smoking cessation advice. 
• Generally supporting the doctors with the care of their patients.
• Record all consultations on the practice computer ensuring collections and maintenance of statistical information.
• Advise patients in surgery or over the telephone on general health care and minor ailments with referral to GPs as necessary.

Family Planning:

• Responsible as a resource for other Practice Nurses
• Responsible for coil assessments and ongoing advice for patients
• Work with the Quality team to provide clinical support for FP call and recall.
• In-depth discussions re: choices for contraception
• Liaising with Family Planning Clinics
• Coil Removals 
• Coil Checks as and when required
• Implant and removal of subcutaneous long acting contraceptives, including overview and some audit of this service. 
• Keeping family planning protocols updated with a GP as per family planning guidelines

Chronic disease management:

• Asthma: Referral to GP and other agencies for review of treatment as necessary.  Keeping up to date with any local or national directives regarding GP Asthma care.
• Diabetes: Communicating with the Practice Nurses with special responsibility for the Diabetic patients. Referring to the GP for review as necessary and with other team members as appropriate.
• Ischaemic Heart Disease - Hypertension: Follow-up care for patients with hypertension in accordance with Practice protocol. Offering advice and education on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Referring to the GP for review as necessary.
• Practice Lead for Cytology: Responsible for cascading information and co-ordination of team training and attendance at cytology update meetings as necessary. 

Standards used to measure achievements against the above include but are not limited to:

Communication/ Quality/ Other Tasks:

• Referring patients to a GP according to agreed protocols
• Taking blood samples as required during clinics and making arrangements for any follow-up
• Covering for holiday and sickness absences for nurses colleagues
• Maintaining and cleaning equipment used by the nurses and GPs 
• With other team members ordering and maintenance of treatment room supplies
• Complex travel medicine advice and administration
• Responsibility for HCA training

Administration and professional responsibilities:

• Participate in the administrative and professional responsibilities of the practice team.
• Ensure accurate completion of all necessary documentation associated with patient health care, registration and claims.
• Ensure collection and maintenance of statistical information required under the GP contract, QoF and for Enhanced Services.
• Attend and participate in practice meetings.  Take an active role in the future development of the integrated nursing team.
• In conjunction with other practice nurses audit all areas of work for effectiveness and future planning
• Annual audit of Yellow fever service 
• Management of PDGs and PSDs held by the practice. 

Education and training of Students and staff

Participate in the education and training of students of all disciplines and the induction of all members of practice staff.  

Liaison

Maintain effective liaison with other agencies and staff concerned with patient care and all other disciplines within the practice.  

Professional development

Maintain continued education by attendance at courses and study days as deemed useful or necessary.  Regular reading of relevant articles and journals.

Standards used to measure achievements against the above include but are not limited to: 

Special requirements of the post

• Registered Nurse
• To Work in accordance with the UKCC code of conduct
• Membership of a professional body
• Ability to self motivate, organise and prioritise workloads
• Excellent communication skills

Person Specification