Advanced Nurse Practitioner

Job summary

Responsible for attending to patients who wish to be seen by a health care professional; diagnosing and treating patients presenting with minor illness; seeing and advising people in respect of their continuing medical and nursing needs.

To work as an autonomous practitioner working independently of and in collaboration with other health care professionals in providing flexible, dynamic and innovative care responsive to health needs of the service user. To assess, diagnose and treat the conditions of patients, initiating direct referrals as appropriate.

Provide expert professional advice to patients, carers and colleagues and ensure the maintenance of clinical excellence at all times.

To seek and develop innovative and pioneering ways of working whilst establishing close working relationships with staff in primary and secondary care, intermediate care, social services and voluntary organisations. In order to work at this level, requirements for advanced practice must be met.

“A highly experienced practitioner who is able to demonstrate a high level of defined competencies and an enhanced depth and breadth of knowledge, which enables them to manage patients/clients autonomously. They have the freedom to act and make complex judgements across appropriate practice situations. This incorporates leading and developing practice, diagnostics, therapeutics, decision making and clinical management in collaborating with other members of the team”

Job responsibilities:

The post-holder will:

Undertake Clinical Nursing Practice at an advanced level using expert knowledge and clinical skills to deliver safe, evidence based and holistic care to people accessing primary health care services.

Make professionally autonomous decisions for which he/she is responsible and accountable for. Work in partnership with General Practitioners, Consultants, Nursing and Social Care colleagues to diagnosis and treat patients with a range of acute, non acute and chronic medical conditions. Order diagnostic tests, plan, implement and evaluate care and initiate follow up review.

Provide a first point of contact within the Practice for patients presenting with undifferentiated, undiagnosed problems, making use of skills in history taking, physical examination, problem-solving and clinical decision-making, to establish a diagnosis and management plan.

Instigate necessary invasive and non-invasive diagnostic tests or investigations and interpret findings/reports. Undertakes and interprets a range of diagnostic tests and routine clinical procedures e.g. pathology, cytology, venepuncture, blood pressure monitoring etc

As a Nurse Independent Prescriber or Pharmacist Independent Prescriber, to prescribe:

Any licensed drug from the British National Formulary, within your professional knowledge and competencies and in concordance with Medicines Act and Misuse of Drugs Act legislation, accepting accountability for all decisions made.

Controlled Drugs as per current legislation for Non-medical Prescribers

Management

• Take a lead role to provide high quality patient care.

• Take an active role in clinical governance, particularly clinical audit, guidelines and protocols.

• Have an understanding of and work towards Quality and Outcome Frameworks (Registered Practice)

• Contribute and access clinical supervision.

• Provide evidence of ongoing personal development through appraisal and review.

• Have an understanding of and access to CCG policies and infrastructure

• To be aware of and utilise risk management strategies (clinical and organisational)

• Attend practice meetings

• Liaise with the providers of care and agencies

• Set up and monitor developments in own practice.

• Maintain own registration and work within NMC code of professional conduct.

To be involved in recruitment of other nurses/healthcare assistants

Liaison

• As well as the nursing team, there is a need to work closely with reception, office and dispensary staff to ensure the smooth running of the practice, reporting any problems encountered to the relevant person and ensuring everyone is aware of the different roles within the nursing team.

• There is also the need to establish and maintain good liaison with other surgeries and agencies, including secondary care

Meetings

• It will be necessary to attend and contribute to various practice meetings as requested. The only reason for not attending will be annual, study or sick leave.

Confidentiality:

• In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately

• In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential

• Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data

Health & safety:

The post-holder will implement and lead on a full range of promotion and management their own and others’ health and safety and infection control, as defined in the practice Health & Safety policy, the practice Health & Safety manual, and the practice Infection Control policy and published procedures. This will include (but will not be limited to):

• Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines

• Awareness of national standards of infection control and cleanliness and regulatory / contractual / professional requirements, and good practice guidelines

• Responsible for correct and safe management of the specimens process, including collection, labelling, handling, use of correct and clean containers, storage and transport arrangements

• Management and maintenance of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the practice including provision, ordering, availability and ongoing correct usage by staff

• Responsible for hand hygiene across the practice

• Ownership of infection control and clinically based patient care protocols, and implementation of those protocols across the practice

• Active observation of current working practices across the practice in relation to infection control, cleanliness and related activities, ensuring that procedures are followed and weaknesses / training needs are identified, escalating issues as appropriate

• Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks across clinical and patient process

• Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills, and initiate and manage the training of others across the full range of infection control and patient processes

• Monitoring practice facilities and equipment in relation to infection control, ensuring that provision of hand-cleansing facilities, wipes etc. are sufficient to ensure a good clinical working environment. Lack of facilities to be escalated as appropriate.

• Safe management of sharps procedures, including training, use, storage and disposal

• Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy, clean and sterile, and safe way, free from hazards. Initiation of remedial / corrective action where needed or escalation to responsible management

• Actively identifying, reporting, and correction of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised

• Keeping own work areas and general / patient areas generally clean, sterile, identifying issues and hazards / risks in relation to other work areas within the business, and assuming responsibility in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness across the business in consultation (where appropriate) with other sector managers

• Undertaking periodic infection control training (minimum twice annually)

• Routine management of own team / team areas, and maintenance of work space standards

• Waste management, including collection, handling, segregation, container management, storage and collection

• Spillage control procedures, management and training

• Decontamination control procedures, management and training, and equipment maintenance

• Maintenance of sterile environments

• Demonstrate due regard for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

Equality and diversity:

The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:

• Acting in a way that recognizes the importance of people’s rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies, and current legislation

• Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues

• Behaving in a manner that is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.

Personal/Professional development:

The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, such training to include:

• Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development

• Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work

Quality:

The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the practice, and will:

• Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk

• Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision

• Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the team’s performance

• Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs

• Effectively manage own time, workload and resources

Communication:

The post-holder should recognize the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:

• Communicate effectively with other team members

• Communicate effectively with patients and carers

• Recognize people’s needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly

Contribution to the implementation of services:

The post-holder will:

• Apply practice policies, standards and guidance

• Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work

• Participate in audit where appropriate