Advanced Clinical Practitioner

Job summary The post holder will demonstrate courageous and critical thinking and is a caring, compassionate and committed 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, competent clinical decision-making and expert care, including assessment and diagnostic skills, for patients within the general practice. The post holder will commit to demonstrating critical thinking in the safe clinical decision-making process. They will communicate and 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. Key responsibilities Clinical Practice Assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate treatment or 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, diagnosis, 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. Support and manage health needs of women presenting for family planning, cervical cytology or sexual health consultation. Assess, identify, and refer patients presenting with mental health needs in accordance with the National and Local Guidelines for Mental Health. Implement and participate in vaccination and immunisation programmes for both adults and children. Advise, support, and administer vaccinations for patients travelling abroad, where appropriate. Promote and deliver evidence-based care for patients presenting with aural conditions. Meet the needs of patients presenting for opportunistic wound 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 (eg PALS) 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 National and Local Guidelines, 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. Working with the practice management monitor and develop the performance of the GPN team in accordance with local policies. Contribute to the appraisal of the performance of the team, providing feedback as appropriate. 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. Working with practice management to ensure the whole team have skills and knowledge regarding domestic violence, vulnerable adults, substance abuse and addictive behaviour. Provide guidance and support to ensure appropriate referral if required . Leadership Personal and People Development Act as a clinical leader in the delivery of practice nursing services ensuring that the needs of the patient are a priority. Take responsibility for own learning and performance including participating in clinical supervision and acting as a positive role model. Support staff development in order to maximise potential. Actively promote the workplace as a learning environment, encouraging everyone to learn from each other and from external good practice. Encourage others to make realistic self-assessment of their application of knowledge and skills, challenging any complacency or actions that are not in the interest of the public and/or users of services. 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. Work with practice management to ensure sufficient staff of appropriate ability, quality and skill-mix are available to meet current and future service delivery, that selection and recruitment processes are effective and that equality of treatment of the team incorporates quality HR principles and processes. Contribute to the development of local guidelines, protocols and standards. Maintain effective communication with those responsible for the overall commissioning and procurement process. Maintain active involvement in the planning and processes of practice-based commissioning or similar initiatives. Promote the role of the advanced nurse practitioner in general practice. 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. Job description Job responsibilities Job summary The post holder will demonstrate courageous and critical thinking and is a caring, compassionate and committed 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, competent clinical decision-making and expert care, including assessment and diagnostic skills, for patients within the general practice. The post holder will commit to demonstrating critical thinking in the safe clinical decision-making process. They will communicate and 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. Key responsibilities Clinical Practice Assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate treatment or 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, diagnosis, 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. Support and manage health needs of women presenting for family planning, cervical cytology or sexual health consultation. Assess, identify, and refer patients presenting with mental health needs in accordance with the National and Local Guidelines for Mental Health. Implement and participate in vaccination and immunisation programmes for both adults and children. Advise, support, and administer vaccinations for patients travelling abroad, where appropriate. Promote and deliver evidence-based care for patients presenting with aural conditions. Meet the needs of patients presenting for opportunistic wound 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 (eg PALS) 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 National and Local Guidelines, 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. Working with the practice management monitor and develop the performance of the GPN team in accordance with local policies. Contribute to the appraisal of the performance of the team, providing feedback as appropriate. 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. Working with practice management to ensure the whole team have skills and knowledge regarding domestic violence, vulnerable adults, substance abuse and addictive behaviour. Provide guidance and support to ensure appropriate referral if required . Leadership Personal and People Development Act as a clinical leader in the delivery of practice nursing services ensuring that the needs of the patient are a priority. Take responsibility for own learning and performance including participating in clinical supervision and acting as a positive role model. Support staff development in order to maximise potential. Actively promote the workplace as a learning environment, encouraging everyone to learn from each other and from external good practice. Encourage others to make realistic self-assessment of their application of knowledge and skills, challenging any complacency or actions that are not in the interest of the public and/or users of services. 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. Work with practice management to ensure sufficient staff of appropriate ability, quality and skill-mix are available to meet current and future service delivery, that selection and recruitment processes are effective and that equality of treatment of the team incorporates quality HR principles and processes. Contribute to the development of local guidelines, protocols and standards. Maintain effective communication with those responsible for the overall commissioning and procurement process. Maintain active involvement in the planning and processes of practice-based commissioning or similar initiatives. Promote the role of the advanced nurse practitioner in general practice. 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.