JOB DESCRIPTION PRACTICE NURSE Job Summary: The Practice Nurse will work as part of the clinical team providing personal medical services to the patients in the practice. They will work collaboratively within the general practice team to meet the needs of the patients including treatment, preventative care, screening and patient education. This also includes undertaking administrative tasks as required. Responsibilities Include: Providing assessment, screening and treatment services and health education advice: Provide nursing treatments to patients in participation with general practitioners or independently to agreed protocols. Assist in checking, ordering and maintaining stock levels in clinical rooms. Assess, plan, develop, implement and evaluate individual treatment plans for patients with a known long term condition. Proactively identify, diagnose and manage patients who are at risk of developing a long term condition. Work with other clinicians to diagnose, monitor, manage and treat long term conditions, including non-drug based treatments and in-line with national and local policies and practice needs. Undertake agreed procedures which include but are not exhaustive. Blood pressure, height and weight-body mass index, venepuncture, ECG, peak flow readings, inhaler technique, spirometry, cytology, travel and childhood vaccinations, interpretation of blood results via the pathology link. Prioritise health problems and intervene appropriately to assist the patient in complex, urgent and emergency care. Provide information and advice, and deliver health promotion. Support and guide women who are attending for family planning advice. Support and manage the needs of the women attending for cervical cytology. Recognise, assess and refer patients presenting with mental health needs in accordance with the Nation Service Framework (NSF) for mental health. Communication and professional responsibilities: Demonstrate sensitive communication, to ensure that patients are fully informed and consent to treatment. Communicate sensitively and support patients who are receiving bad news. Communicate effectively with patients and carers, recognising the different methods of communication to overcome different levels of understanding, cultural background and language difficulties. Maintain effective communication with individuals and groups within the practice environment and external stakeholders. Prioritise, organise and manage own workload in a manner that maintains and promotes quality. Work within your own competence and professional code of conduct as regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). Deliver care according to the practices policies, the NSF and National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines. Understand and implement legal policy that supports the identification of vulnerable children and adults, being aware of practice and local safeguarding procedures. Participate in the administrative and professional responsibilities of the practice team. Ensure accurate notes of all consultations and treatments are recorded in the patients notes on the clinical computer system as appropriate. Ensure accurate completion of all necessary documentation associated with patient health care and registration with the practice. Ensure collection and maintenance of statistical information required for regular audits and reports. Attend and participate in practice meetings as required. Assist in the formulation of practice philosophy, strategy and policy and develop appropriate protocols. In participation with the Nurse Team Manager, ensure the maintenance of equipment and stock levels relating to patient care. Review and process information about patients using accurate read codes in order to ensure easy and accurate retrieval of information for monitoring and audit processes. Personal and People Development: Participate in the education and training of students of all disciplines and the induction of all members of practice staff with special responsibility for nursing staff. Maintain and take responsibility for your own development, learning and performance by attendance at courses, training and study days as deemed useful or necessary for professional development. This including clinical supervision. Participate in the engagement of practice based commissioning (PBC) or similar activities. Keep up-to-date with new developments locally and nationally identifying those that will enhance the teams or organisations work. Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teams performance Confidentiality: Your attention is drawn to the confidential nature of the post including Information Governance and Freedom of Information. 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. Disclosures of confidential information or disclosures of any data of a personal nature may result in prosecution for an offence under the Data Protection Act 1984/1998 or an action for civil damages in addition to disciplinary action by the Doctor, which might include dismissal. 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 peoples 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 which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights. Health & Safety: The post-holder is required to take responsible care for the health and safety of him/herself and other persons who may be affected by his/her acts or omissions at work. The post holder is also required to adhere to the Practices health and safety regulations. Equal Opportunities: The Practice welcomes all persons without regards to age, ethnic or national origin, gender or sexual orientation, religion, lifestyle, presenting illness, marital or parental status or disability. We aim to provide a non-judgemental service at all times. Other duties:The post holder will be required to undertake any other duties according to the needs of the practice. The job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of activities, but rather than outline of the main areas of responsibility. Any reasonable changes will be discussed and agreed with the post holder before variations to the job description are made. This post is subject to DBS clearance.