Advanced Nurse Practitioner

JOB DESCRIPTION: ADVANCED NURSE PRACTITIONER

POST: Advanced Nurse Practitioner

LOCATION: Greenhills Medical Centre East Kilbride

BAND: 7

ACCOUNTABLE TO: GP Partners for clinical matters and Practice Manager for operational matters

JOB PURPOSE:

To act as an autonomous practitioner working independently and in conjunction with other health care professionals to assess, diagnose and treat the conditions of patients attending within primary care initiating direct referrals as appropriate. To provide expert professional advice to patients, carers and colleagues and ensure the maintenance of clinical excellence. To develop new and innovative concepts, models, methods and practices to deliver new and improved primary care services to meet the needs of the practice and population. To provide education and training to other staff and students.

PRIMARY DUTIES AND AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITIES

CLINICAL NURSING PRACTICE

• Undertakes Clinical Nursing Practice at an advanced level using expert knowledge and clinical skills to deliver holistic care to people accessing primary health care services.
• Assesses diagnoses and treats patients attending primary health care services with a range of acute, non-acute and chronic medical conditions.
• Assesses diagnoses and treats patients in surgery or own home who require acute medical attention and refers to appropriate agency.
• Refers patients to other medical specialties for assessment if deemed appropriate.
• Refers patients as appropriate to other members of the multidisciplinary team, secondary care and to other statutory and voluntary organisations including referral for x-ray.
• Interprets a range of diagnostic tests and routine clinical procedures.
• Makes critical judgements to satisfy the expectations and demands of the job, e.g. first contact with patients presenting acutely and manages care in the presence and absence of protocols.
• Makes decisions where precedents do not exist, where appropriate without recourse to others e.g. direct referral of patients to Hospital Consultants without prior reference to other medical colleagues.
• Advises and supports others where standard protocols do not apply.
• Works within professional guidelines and codes of conduct.
• Works within all relevant practice policies and procedural guidelines e.g. infection control, chaperoning, risk management.
• Extended and supplementary prescriber.

CARE AND PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT

• Develops and manages highly specialised programmes of care and care packages and provides highly specialised advice concerning care normally beyond the scope of normal Nursing practice e.g. establishes differential diagnoses, management/treatment plans and makes referrals as appropriate. Makes fast track referrals.
• Communicates highly sensitive condition related information to patients, relatives and carers.
• Initiates the process of diagnosis with patients suspected to have a chronic disease e.g. diabetes, COPD, asthma, IHD referring to other clinical staff as appropriate.
• Contributes to practice targets both local and national within the disease management agenda.
• Contributes to disease register upkeep.
• Audits outcomes of care against standards and initiates changes as necessary.
• Undertakes annual review of patients' understanding and ability to self-manage and medication reviews.
• Refers to other members of the extended primary health care team as appropriate e.g. chiropodist, dietician, specialist Nurses.
• Actively implements safeguarding protocols for children and vulnerable adults and knows who to refer to and how to escalate concerns about radicalisation.
• Contributes to the strategic development of primary care and public health services to meet patient and population needs within the practice and across the wider organisation. Works/liaises across multi-professional and agency boundaries.
• Works at the forefront of practice innovation. Determines how to deal with ambiguous or unique problems to develop and advance primary care services for the benefit of patients, carers and communities.
• Develops links within the CCG and other local and national bodies relevant to primary care Nursing initiatives.

HEALTH IMPROVEMENT

• Initiates and carries out programmes of health screening and ensures other team members are aware of health agendas and screening programmes.
• Introduces innovation in practice to meet ongoing health need demands of the practice.
• Works to introduce new developments that will improve health outcomes for patients.
• Shares innovation and new learning with others.
• Supports practitioners in profiling the practice population in order to initiate, contribute and promote improved health and prevent disease in individuals and groups.
• Represents individuals and families' interests when they are not able to do so themselves.
• Makes referrals to statutory and voluntary agencies as appropriate.

COMMUNICATION

• Provides and receives highly complex, sensitive or contentious information and frequently deals with situations which are hostile or emotive.
• Uses developed communication, negotiation, conflict management skills which require empathy, reassurance and persuasive skills where there can be significant barriers to acceptance which need to be overcome.
• Regularly communicates service related information to Partners, Practice Manager, Salaried GPs, Nursing and Administrative staff, patients, relatives and carers.
• Makes operational judgements, manages conflicting views and reconciles inter and intra-professional differences of opinion.
• Builds and communicates therapeutic working relationships with a wide array of statutory and voluntary organisations for the benefit of patient care and facilitates good working relationships.
• Develops and delivers presentations to large groups e.g. local and national conferences, clinical meetings, empowers staff to develop presentation skills in order to promote good practice.

MANAGE/LEAD SELF/OTHERS

• Develops a special interest (dependent on experience) within the practice.
• Encourages and motivates others to be forward thinking in ideas that address the health needs of the practice that will be innovative whilst managing and developing new ways of working.
• Develops and leads on evidence-based practice.
• Promotes effective communication and relationships within the team.
• Partakes in monthly clinical supervision for own development.
• Actively participates in clinical meetings.
• Develops own knowledge and practice to meet objectives/changes in service, through attendance on study days, self-directed learning and reflection on practice.
• Integrates theory into practice and establishes formal links with educational institutions.
• Leads on setting standards and promotes best practice.
• Operates high standards of probity.
• Responsible for establishing how policies should be interpreted and translated within the practice.
• Implements and adheres to local/national and practice policies, proposes developments and improvements to service delivery.

MANAGE AND USE INFORMATION

• Makes effective use of the clinical system by ensuring the consistent and accurate entering of data and use of Read Codes.
• Facilitates the use of up-to-date information technology in order to collate accurate and timely information as and when required by the practice.
• Ensures a satisfactory call and recall system of patients.
• Assists in the development of practice protocols for the surgery and clinical protocols for the clinical team.
• Identifies, monitors and reviews deficiencies in procedures and implements remedial action.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

• Continuous involvement in research/evaluation and/or development work which may be as part of one or more formal research programmes or activities.
• Actively contributes to Practice/Service/Team audit/Research activity as required.
• Instigates audit activity as required e.g. new services.
• Identifies, applies and disseminates research findings relating to clinical practice.