Practice Nurse

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical

• 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
• Provide basic and higher levels of practice nursing care as needed for patients
• Provide care for minor injuries, dressings, and higher-level wound care, liaising directly, where appropriate with community and secondary care counterparts, escalating to a GP or referring onto community services e.g., leg ulcer clinic/tissue viability etc.
• Support City Wide Services in achieving quality indicators and targets of the primary care services contract and any relevant National Service Frameworks.
• Undertake opportunistic screening when clinically required e.g., blood pressure, BMI, smoking status, alcohol intake etc.
• Perform venepuncture and electrocardiography and suture and staple removal
• Assessing problems presented opportunistically by patients
• Take swabs ensuring samples are taken by the lab
• Provide a holistic approach to wound management and implement wound care dressing techniques in line with current evidence-based guidelines, and locally agreed formulary
• Carry out ear examination and syringing, following appropriate training and assessment
• Undertake family planning assessments including regarding LARC, give advice and refer patients appropriately onwards to the GP team
• Administer adult and paediatric immunisations and injections under an individualised prescription or Patient Group Direction, ensuring safe storage, rotation and disposal of vaccines and drugs
• Provide advice on lifestyle issues, health promotion, disease prevention and assist, support, educate patients of healthy lifestyle behaviours and refer appropriately
• Recognise the signs of child abuse, family violence, vulnerable adults, substance abuse, addictive behaviours, suicidal tendencies and be aware of local referral procedures
• Perform a holistic assessment of patients attending for cervical cytology smear test including providing pre-test information, competent sample taking and counselling regarding results.
• Ensure that current evidence-based approaches to patient are standard practice
• Apply infection control measures when collecting and handling of laboratory specimens, disposing of waste materials, dealing with blood and body fluids spillages and report and treat sharps injuries as per local policies
• Undertake first aid and management of emergencies, e.g., burns, haemorrhage, hypo/hyperglycaemic emergencies/asthma attacks
• Conduct family planning consultations including counselling about LARC methods and communicate back to patients registered GP practice any further action is required
• Counsel patients on injectable contraceptive methods, including starting and or continuing contraceptive injections. Ensure injections given as per national guidance an injection technique and disposing of any sharps as per local policy
• Act as a chaperone or similar support for other colleagues as needed
• Conduct and supervise if necessary 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
• 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
• Provide patient health promotion/ disease prevention education and counselling focusing on health behaviour change, by counselling patients on the nature of their conditions, the use of their medications, diet, exercise and other health behaviours
• Work to review the management of chronic diseases such as diabetes, COPD, Asthma, Hypertension etc. by providing specifically defined clinical sessions, working closely with the GP and non-medical prescriber team to manage a patient’s overall care. Work within the processes set out in the SOP for chronic disease management
• 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
• 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
• Work alongside the Treatment Room Nurse and Health Care Assistants to help develop their skills
• Able to recognise and manage anaphylaxis according to current UK guidelines.
• Able to perform Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation according to current UK guidelines

Administrative

• 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
• Obtain and document informed consent (either verbal or written)
• Support the Clinical Team 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 and in the local and national health system as needed to ensure good patient care
• 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 ensure cost efficient purchasing of perishable and expensive items
• Ability to monitor and manage maintenance of stock and equipment to include single use equipment and general treatment room equipment and emergency equipment
• Work with the wider practice team with the chronic disease recall process either with completion and moving on of the patient recalls or advising patients that their recalls are due.
• Participate in Infection Control procedure and protocols and their implementation within GP+ including infection control audits.