Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Burnley

The successful post holder will be an experienced Advanced Clinical Practitioner working autonomously within their professional scope of practice, providing care for patients from initial history taking, clinical assessments, diagnosis, treatment, evaluation and follow up of care. They will operate within their own sphere of competence and acceptable limits of practice to demonstrate safe, clinical decision-making and expert care for patients within the general practice. They will work collaboratively with the multi-disciplinary general practice team to provide expert professional clinical advice to patients, carers and colleagues, ensuring clinical safety and excellence and providing leadership as required.

Main duties of the job

• Assess and triage patients, including same day triage, and as appropriate provide definitive treatment (including prescribing medications following policy, patient group directives, NICE (national) and local clinical guidelines and local care pathways) or make necessary referrals to other members of the primary care team.
• Manage undifferentiated undiagnosed condition and identify red flags and underlying serious pathology and take appropriate action.
• Use complex decision making to inform the diagnosis, investigation, complete management of episodes of care within a broad scope of practice.
• Actively takes a personalised care approach and population centred care approach to enable shared decision making with the presenting person.
• Complete the relevant training in order to provide multi-professional clinical practice and CPD supervision to other roles within primary care, for example first contact practitioners and the personalised care roles.

About us

The East Lancashire Alliance is a network of 9 PCNs covering 48 GP practices covering a population of over 390,000 patients across East Lancashire. Patients are at the heart of everything we do and we pride ourselves in ensuring our patients feel safe, supported, communicated with and respected at a time when they may be feeling vulnerable. The Alliance are proud to represent our member practices and to champion our Primary Care Partners, by working with local general practice and other system partners in the provision of patient centred, local healthcare services. Each practice has a close-knit team of staff who collectively seek to improve the health of their patient populations. East Lancashire is one of the world's most innovative, original and exciting places to live and work. From the beauty of the surrounding countryside, to the heart of the vibrant inner Towns and Villages with great shopping, entertainment and dining options. Wherever you go you will experience a great northern welcome with people famed for their warmth, humour and generosity.

Job responsibilities

• Maintain up to date skills and knowledge, maintaining awareness of professional issues at an advanced level.
• Assess effectiveness of own clinical practice and care delivery through self-reflection and peer review, as well as benchmarking and formal evaluation.
• Promote evidence-based practice through the use of latest research-based guidelines and the development of practice based research.
• Participate in continuing professional development opportunities to ensure up to date evidence-based knowledge and competence in all aspect of the role is maintained.
• Develop and maintain a Personal Learning Plan.
• Maintain their professional registration.
• Work within the latest Code of Professional Conduct.
• Record accurate consultation data in patients records in accordance with the latest guidance and other pertinent standards.
• Keep up to date with the pertinent health-related policy and work with Locality team to consider the impact and strategies for implementation.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues within and external to the PCN.
• Participate in multi-disciplinary protocol and clinical pathways.
• Participate in audits and inspections as appropriate.
• Participate in PCN meetings reporting progress as required.
• Practice in compliance with their respective code of professional conduct and within their scope of practice, being responsible and accountable for their decisions, actions and omissions at this level of practice.
• Demonstrate a critical understanding of their broadened level of responsibility and autonomy and the limits of own competence and professional scope of practice, including when working with complexity, risk, uncertainty and incomplete information.
• Act on professional judgement about when to seek help, demonstrating critical reflection on own practice, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and openness to change.
• Work in partnership with individuals, families and carers, using a range of assessment methods as appropriate.
• Demonstrate effective communication skills, supporting people in making decisions, planning care or seeking to make a positive change.
• Use expertise and decision-making skills to inform clinical reasoning.
• Initiate, evaluate and modify a range of interventions which may include prescribing medicines, therapies, lifestyle advice and care.
• Exercise professional judgement to manage risk.
• Manage patients presenting with a range of acute and chronic medical conditions, providing subject matter expert advice.
• Implement and evaluate individual specialised treatment plans for chronic disease patients.
• Identify, manage and support patients at risk of developing long-term conditions, preventing adverse effects to the patients health.
• Be a professional role model for the organisation.
• Actively engage in peer review to inform own and others practice, formulating and implementing strategies to act on learning and make improvements.
• Actively seek feedback and involvement from individuals, families, carers, communities and colleagues in the co-production of service improvements.
• Critically assess and address own learning needs, negotiating a personal development plan that reflects the breadth of ongoing professional development across the four pillars of advanced clinical practice (clinical practice, leadership and management, education and research).
• Provide chronic disease clinics, delivering patient care as necessary, referring patients to secondary/specialist care as required.
• Maintain accurate clinical records in conjunction with extant legislation and to ensure SNOMED CT codes are used effectively.
• Develop, implement and embed an effective call/recall system.
• Critically appraise and synthesise the outcome of relevant research, evaluation and audit, using the results to underpin own practice and to inform that of others.
• Develop and implement robust governance systems and contribute to practice targets QOF, etc., complying with local and regional guidance.
• Chaperone patients where necessary.
• Support the team in dealing with clinical emergencies.
• Support the team with all safeguarding matters in accordance with local and national policies.
• Understand practice and local policies for substance abuse and addictive behaviour, referring patients appropriately.
• Deliver opportunistic health promotion where appropriate.
• Support the IPC lead, ensuring compliance, and undertaking audit as necessary.
• Monitor and ensure the safe storage, rotation and disposal of medicines.
• Undertake overall management of a clinical team, providing guidance when necessary, acting as a mentor to students and newly qualified staff.
• Maintain an effective clinical staff rota ensuring all clinics are staffed appropriately.
• Participate in local initiatives to enhance service delivery and patient care.
• Support and participate in shared learning within the organisation.
• Develop an area of specialist interest, taking the lead within the organisation.
• Continually review clinical practices, responding to national policies and initiatives where appropriate.
• Participate in the review of significant and near-miss events applying a structured approach i.e., root cause analysis RCA.
• Commensurate with their role, support the development of clinical services within the organisation, liaising with external agencies and professional organisations as required.
• Develop practice administrative and clinical protocols in line with the needs of the patient and current legislation.

Qualifications

• Essential: NMC Registered & Qualified independent prescriber. Educated to Masters Degree level as an Advanced Clinical Practitioner.
• Desirable: Teaching or Mentoring experience and/or qualification.

Experience

• Essential: Minimum of 5 years post registration experience. Experience in the management of long term conditions for example asthma, COPD, diabetes, coronary heart disease. Evidence of appropriate continuing professional development activity to maintain up to date knowledge and ongoing competence in all aspects of the NP role. Proven ability to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of their own clinical practice.
• Desirable: Interpreting and implementing local and National policy agendas for health. Experience of undertaking audit.

Knowledge and skills

• Essential: Understanding and knowledge of policy developments in regards to the delivery of primary care services including General Practice, the GMS/PMS contract, Clinical Governance, Quality and Outcomes Framework and Local/Directed Enhanced Service contracts. Understanding of evidence-based practice. Knowledge of national standards that inform practice for example National Service Frameworks, NICE guidelines. Understanding of their accountability arising from NMC Code of Professional Conduct 2009 and medico-legal aspects of the Nurse practitioner role. Understanding of equal opportunity and diversity issues. Understanding and maintaining effective communication pathways within the organisation, the PCN and with key external stakeholders. Effective time management and ability to prioritise workload. Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills. Able to analyse data and information; drawing out implications for the patient/impact on care plan. Working at a masters level aware or equivalent that encompasses the four pillars of clinical practice, leadership and management, education and research, with demonstration of core capabilities and area specific clinical competencies.
• Desirable: Experience of using medical software package. Flexibility to work outside core hours. Proven record of effective use of networking and influencing skills.

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.