Job summary
Our extremely successful, high achieving semi-rural village practice is offering you the opportunity to work with us as a salaried advanced nurse practitioner. Working in a modern practice as part of our dedicated clinical team along with friendly and supportive nursing and administrative staff.

Main duties of the job
We are seeking an experienced advanced nurse practitioner who, acting within their professional boundaries, will provide acute and routine assessment for the presenting patient from initial history taking, clinical assessment, diagnosis, treatment and evaluation of care. They will demonstrate safe, clinical decision-making and expert care, including assessment and diagnostic skills, for patients within the general practice. The post holder will demonstrate critical thinking in the clinical decision-making process. They will work collaboratively with the general practice team to meet the needs of patients, supporting the delivery of policy and procedures, and providing nurse leadership as required. In order to work at this level NMC requirements for advanced practice must be met.

About us
Long established, well respected practice.

Consistent high achievement of clinical indicators.

Excellent CQC inspection report.

High patient satisfaction rates.

Cohesive GP partnership.

Dedicated to high quality patient care.

Excellent clinical, managerial and administrative support.

Purpose built surgery with full complement of auxiliary staff.

Semi-rural area with easy access to major motorways.

Employee wellbeing programme.

6 weeks annual leave plus pro rata bank holidays.

NHS pension scheme.

Company sick pay scheme (after 2 years of service).

Please be aware general practice employees arenot subject to the NHS Agenda for Change terms and conditions.

Job responsibilities
Advanced Nurse Practitioner

23.5 Hours per week

Responsible To Partners and Practice Manager

Job Summary

The post holder is an experienced nurse who, acting within their professional boundaries, will provide care for the presenting patient from initial history taking, clinical assessment, diagnosis, treatment and evaluation of care. They will demonstrate safe, clinical decision-making and expert care, including assessment and diagnostic skills, for patients within the general practice. The post holder will demonstrate critical thinking in the clinical decision-making process. They will work collaboratively with the general practice team to meet the needs of patients, supporting the delivery of policy and procedures, and providing nurse leadership as required. In order to work at this level NMC requirements for advanced practice must be met.

Key responsibilities
Clinical practice

• Assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate treatment/interventions and care for patients presenting with an undifferentiated diagnosis
• Clinically examine and assess patient needs from a physiological and psychological perspective, and plan clinical care accordingly
• Assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate interventions/treatments for patients with complex needs.
• Proactively identify, diagnose and manage treatment plans for patients at risk of developing a long-term condition (as appropriate)
• Diagnose and manage both acute and chronic conditions, integrating both drug- and non-drug-based treatment methods into a management plan
• Prescribe and review medication for therapeutic effectiveness, appropriate to patient needs and in accordance with evidence-based practice and national and practice protocols, and within scope of practice
• Work with patients in order to support compliance with and adherence to prescribed treatments. Provide information and advice on prescribed or over-the-counter medication on medication regimens, side-effects and interactions
• Prioritise health problems and intervene appropriately to assist the patient in complex, urgent or emergency situations, including initiation of effective emergency care
• Support patients to adopt health promotion strategies that promote healthy lifestyles, and apply principles of self-care

Communication

• Utilise and demonstrate sensitive communication styles, to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to treatment
• Communicate with and support patients who are receiving bad news
• Communicate effectively with patients and carers, recognising the need for alternative methods of communication to overcome different levels of understanding, cultural background and preferred ways of communicating
• Anticipate barriers to communication and take action to improve communication
• Maintain effective communication within the practice environment and with external stakeholders
• Act as an advocate for patients and colleagues
• Ensure awareness of sources of support and guidance and provide information in an acceptable format to all patients, recognising any difficulties and referring where appropriate

Delivering a quality service

• Recognise and work within own competence and professional code of conduct as regulated by the NMC.
• Produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete records of patient consultation, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures
• Prioritise, organise and manage own workload in a manner that maintains and promotes quality
• Deliver care according to NICE guidelines and evidence-based care
• Assess effectiveness of care delivery through self and peer review, benchmarking and formal evaluation
• Initiate and participate in the maintenance of quality governance systems and processes across the organisation and its activities
• Utilise the audit cycle as a means of evaluating the quality of the work of self and the team, implementing improvements where required
• In partnership with other clinical teams, collaborate on improving the quality of health care responding to local and national policies and initiatives as appropriate
• Evaluate patients response to health care provision and the effectiveness of care
• Support and participate in shared learning across the practice and wider organisation
• Use a structured framework (eg root-cause analysis) to manage, review and identify learning from patient complaints, clinical incidents and near-miss events
• Assess the impact of policy implementation on care delivery
• Understand and apply legal issues that support the identification of vulnerable and abused children and adults, and be aware of statutory child/vulnerable patients health procedures and local guidance

Leadership personal and people development

• Take responsibility for own learning and performance including participating in clinical supervision and acting as a positive role mode
• Support staff development in order to maximise potential
• Critically evaluate and review innovations and developments that are relevant to the area of work
• Enlist support and influence stakeholders and decision-makers in order to bring about new developments in the provision of services
• Take a lead role in planning and implementing changes within the area of care and responsibility
• Contribute to the development of local guidelines, protocols and standards

Team working

• Understand own role and scope and identify how this may develop over time
• Work as an effective and responsible team member, supporting others and exploring the mechanisms to develop new ways of working
• Delegate clearly and appropriately, adopting the principles of safe practice and assessment of competence
• Create clear referral mechanisms to meet patient need
• Prioritise own workload and ensure effective time-management strategies are embedded within the culture of the team
• Work effectively with others to clearly define values, direction and policies impacting upon care delivery
• Discuss, highlight and work with the team to create opportunities to improve patient care
• Manage and lead on the delivery of specifically identified services or projects as agreed with the practice management team
• Agree plans and outcomes by which to measure success

Management of risk

• Manage and assess risk within the areas of responsibility, ensuring adequate measures are in place to protect staff and patients
• Monitor work areas and practices to ensure they are safe and free from hazards and conform to health, safety and security legislation, policies, procedures and guidelines
• Apply infection-control measures within the practice according to local and national guidelines
• Advocate for policies that reduce environmental health risks, are culturally sensitive and increase access to health care for all
• Interpret national strategies and policies into local implementation strategies that are aligned to the values and culture of general practice
• Understand and comply with whistleblowing procedures
• Be fully conversant with safeguarding policies and procedures and ensure regular safeguarding training is undertaken in line with local and national guidance

Managing information

• Use technology and appropriate software as an aid to management in planning, implementation and monitoring of care, presenting and communicating information
• Review and process data using accurate Read codes in order to ensure easy and accurate information retrieval for monitoring and audit processes
• Manage information searches using the internet and local library databases
• Understand responsibility of self and others to the practice and primary care trust regarding the Freedom and Information Act
• Have an understanding of GDPR legislation and follow local and national policies and procedures

Learning and development

• Undertake mentorship for more junior staff, assessing competence against set standards
• Disseminate learning and information gained to other team members in order to share good practice and inform others about current and future developments
• Assess own learning needs and undertake learning as appropriate
• Provide an educational role to patients, carers, families and colleagues in an environment that facilitates learning

Equality and diversity

• Identify patterns of discrimination and take action to overcome this and promote diversity and equality of opportunity
• Enable others to promote equality and diversity in a non-discriminatory culture
• Support people who need assistance in exercising their rights
• Monitor and evaluate adherence to local chaperoning policies
• Act as a role model in the observance of equality and diversity good practice
• Accept the rights of individuals to choose their care providers, participate in care and refuse care
• Assist patients from marginalised groups to access quality care
• Undertake any training required in order to meet the needs of the practice

Person Specification
Experience
Essential

• A minimum of 3 years working within general practice.
• Ability to assess and manage a wide range of acute and chronic conditions, seeing both urgent and routine patients with general medical conditions.
• Confident in assessing patients from birth.
• Must be a prescriber.
• Awareness and the antibiotic guardian programme. With a commitment to managing antibiotic prescribing in accordance with the principles of the antibiotic guardian programme and local/national guidance. Support the practice in meeting targets to reduce antibiotic prescribing.
• Able to make a long term commitment to the practice and to make an active contribution towards the continuing success of the practice.
• Keen to work collaboratively with our clinical and administrative staff.

Desirable

• Ability to undertake breast examination.
• Ability to undertake gynaecological examination.
• Experience assessing low level mental health conditions.
• Consult with pregnant women with acute presentations such as acute infection.

Qualifications
Essential

• NMC registration
• Advanced nurse practitioner qualification
• Prescribing qualification

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Applicants must have current UK professional registration.