Advanced Nurse Practitioner

Job responsibilities

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• To act as an autonomous advanced practitioner working independently and in conjunction with other health care professionals to assess, diagnose and treat the conditions of patients.

• To avoid inappropriate admissions and maintain patients in their home environments with a safe package of care and referral to other agencies as necessary, including directly admitting patients to hospital when necessary.

• To respond to GP triage for home visiting both in the patients home and in care homes.

• Provide evidence based professional advice to patients, carers and colleagues and ensure the maintenance of clinical excellence and a proactive approach to care.

• To develop and lead new and innovative concepts, models, methods and practices to deliver new and improved primary care services to meet the needs of the practice population.

• To provide education and training to other staff and students.

• To undertake research and audit as part of the role.

Advanced Clinical Practice

• The Advanced clinical Practitioner works autonomously and is accountable for own professional actions.

• Undertakes clinical practice at an advanced level using expert knowledge and clinical skills to deliver holistic care to people accessing primary health care services.

• Utilises the four pillars of Advanced practice: clinical practice, leadership, facilitating learning and evidence, research and development.

• Assesses diagnoses and treats patients in own home who require acute/none acute medical attention and set up a package of care and/or refer to appropriate agencies if appropriate

• Prescribes appropriate treatment in line with Local/National prescribing guidelines according to assessment.

• Assesses diagnoses and treats patients who require medical care

• Telephone Consultations

• Refers patients to other medical specialities 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 further clinical investigations including but not limited to ECHO, ECG, Bloods, X-ray

• Ability to interpret a range of diagnostic tests and routine clinical procedures.

• Makes critical judgements of the highest order 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.

• Communicates highly sensitive condition related information to patients, relatives and carers.

• Initiates the process of diagnosis with patients suspected to have a chronic disease eg: Diabetes, COPD, Asthma, IHD referring onto other clinical staff as appropriate.

• Audits outcomes of care against standards and initiate changes as necessary.

• Refers to other members of the extended primary health care team as appropriate.

Professional Development

• To be responsible for maintaining own competency to practice through Continuing Professional Development activities and to participate in the review and appraisal process.

• To always adhere to the individual Professional Code of Conduct and practice.

• To reflect on own practice individually and/or through regular clinical supervision.

• To participate in any relevant training/course/conferences to maintain own professional development

• Participate in the education, induction programmes and support meetings for other professional staff.

• To participate in peer review, attend team meetings and periodically attend Federation meetings.

• Maintain up to date mandatory training records.

• To maintain, develop and disseminate specialist knowledge of evidence-based practice.

• To critically evaluate own work using evidence-based projects, audits and outcome measures.

• To work autonomously as a Home Visiting Practitioner within professional and PICS guidelines, policies and procedure

Communication and Relationship Skills

• Ensure close liaison with Line Manager and Clinical Lead in communicating with regards to clinical issues. Organise and attend regular MDT / Supervision

• 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 GPs, Practice Manager, Nursing and Administrative staff, patients, relatives and carers.

• Makes operational judgements, manages conflicting views and reconciles inter and intra professional differences of opinion.

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