Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Sherborne

We are recruiting for an Advanced Nurse Practitioner to join our Acute Care Team working alongside Louise, our Advanced Nurse Practitioner, and our Duty Doctor. This role is for 4 days per week, starting September 2026. We will consider a recently qualified Advanced Nurse Practitioner if they are right for the role but they will need to have some previous experience of minor illnesses and acute care. They will provide assessment and care of acutely presenting patients within the practice.

Main duties of the job

Our Acute Care Team is made up of a GP and Advanced Nurse Practitioners. The main duties include assessing and diagnosing patients presenting with acute issues, face‑to‑face, by telephone, or other methods, and assisting the nursing team with patients beyond their competence.

Job responsibilities

The role is for an experienced Advanced Nurse Practitioner who will provide assessment and care of the acutely presenting patient within the practice. They will work autonomously within the scope of their experience and qualifications with support and supervision of the doctors within the practice. This includes appointments within the surgery and occasional visits to patients in their own homes or nursing/residential homes. They will recognise and work within their own competence and professional code of conduct as regulated by the NMC. NMC requirements for advanced clinical practice must be met.

• Assess, examine, diagnose, and develop management plans for patients presenting with a new problem.
• Deliver evidence-based care according to national and local guidelines.
• Prescribe within the scope of knowledge in accordance with practice, NHS Dorset and national guidance.
• Produce accurate complete records of patient consultation using accurate coding to ensure easy and accurate information retrieval for monitoring and audit processes.
• Assist the practice to obtain the level of QoF points required by acting on highlighted QoF indicators where appropriate.
• Provide information and advice on prescribed or over‑the‑counter medication, 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 in the application of the principles of self‑care and healthy living.
• Where suitably qualified, manage the health needs of women presenting for family planning, cervical cytology, or sexual health consultation.
• Participate in opportunistic vaccination and immunisation of adults and children.
• Follow agreed clinical protocols with referral to GPs as appropriate.
• If required, assess and manage the needs of patients presenting for opportunistic wound care or phlebotomy provision.
• Support the nursing team with assessing patients who have presented with issues beyond those the nurse/HCA feels competent to manage within your own competence.

General responsibilities

• Take responsibility for your own learning and personal development and act as a positive role‑model.
• Have an awareness of and compliance with all relevant practice policies and guidelines, such as prescribing, confidentiality, data protection, health and safety.
• Communicate effectively with patients and carers, recognising the need for alternative methods of communication to overcome cultural and language barriers.
• Carry out consultations within the practice face‑to‑face, by telephone or online or other methods as appropriate.
• Use the audit cycle to evaluate the quality of the work within the practice and implement improvements where required.
• Support and participate in shared learning across the practice and wider organisation.
• Understand and apply legal issues that support the identification of vulnerable and abused children and adults and be aware of statutory child/vulnerable patient health procedures and local guidance, including contributing to case conferences or documentation if required.
• Maintain and clean equipment as per guidelines used in the course of your duty.
• Chaperone and assist patients who are being examined by another clinician on request.
• Maintain general tidiness and cleanliness of the consultation or treatment room that you are working in.
• Participate in administrative systems in the Practice.
• Advise GP(s) of potential problems or errors within the range of assigned tasks.
• Attend and participate in any Practice meetings when required; meetings may be on days you do not normally work, however you are expected to attend and will be paid overtime.
• Occasionally undertake home visits.
• Carrying out any other delegated duties appropriate to the post.

Person Specification

Personal Attributes

• Excellent communication skills both written and verbal, with experience of communicating difficult messages to patients and families.
• Highly motivated.
• Flexible.
• Team player and able to work across boundaries.

Specialist Knowledge/Skills

• Advanced Clinical Practice skills.
• Clinical examination skills.
• Accountability of own role.
• Management of patients with long‑term conditions.
• Management of patients with complex conditions.
• Clinical Governance issues in primary care.
• Patient Group Directives, Patient Specific Directives and associated policy.
• Understanding of national and local health policy.
• Knowledge of public health issues.
• Mentoring and training experience.
• Specialism in an area other than minor ailments/injuries such as sexual health, diabetes, respiratory, mental health.

Qualifications

• Registered first level nurse.
• MSc, Level 7 qualification or equivalent (NMC requirements for advanced practice must be met).
• Independent/supplementary nurse prescribing qualification.
• Advanced nursing specialist qualification.
• Clinical supervision training and experience.
• Specialism in area other than minor ailments/injuries such as sexual health, diabetes, respiratory, mental health.

Experience

• Nurse Prescribing.
• Nurse‑led management of minor illness, minor ailments and other minor injuries.
• Nurse‑led triage.
• Audit.
• 2 years + recent primary/community nursing experience.
• Compiling clinical protocols and guidelines.
• Research and QI.

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.