Practice Nurse

To ensure smooth and efficient functioning of the practice and provide an exceptional standard of care to our patients.

Responsibilities:

Clinical

• Perform clinical duties within required level of clinical competency, according to best available evidence.  Explain procedures to patients, providing them with support and reassurance.  Duties include triage, immunisations and other injections; wound management, chronic disease management, ECG’s and collection of pathology samples.
• Assist doctors with clinical procedures.  Maintain clinical documentation.
• Explain procedures to patients, providing them with support and reassurance.

Patient Services

• Assist with triage, data management, diagnostic services, networking with other providers, planning & management of patient care and patient advocacy.
• Telephone patients with test results as directed by medical staff.

Improvement of Patient Health Outcomes

• Conduct preventative/screening procedures;
• Assist with patient education and community health promotion activities.
• Co-ordinate patient recall and outreach programs and GP management plans and team care arrangement.
• Patient Visits
• Provide home/hospital visits as required for monitoring support, including antenatal and post-natal care and health assessments.

Equipment and Supplies

• Ensure maintenance of clinical equipment.
• Maintain stocks of clinical supplies, including correct storage (such as refrigeration), removal of out-of-date stock and ordering supplies.
• Provide input in purchasing relevant clinical equipment and supplies.

Compliance

• Maintain awareness of current and new legislation to ensure business is complying with all statutory and regulatory obligations including infection control, hazardous materials & safe handling/disposal of medical waste, records management, OHS, and accreditation.  Ensure relevant personnel are kept informed and changes are made to systems and procedures as required.

Infection Prevention and Control Coordination

• Maintain the practice’s systems and processes for hand hygiene, environmental cleaning, spills management, and practice team immunisations in accordance with practice policy and procedure.
• Educate all members of the practice team on an annual basis regarding their responsibilities in infection prevention and control, or whenever changes in legislation, or practice procedures occurs.
• Manage the practice’s sterilisation process, ensuring sterility and integrity in the process.
• Ensure the practice’s waste management complies with local, state and federal regulations.

Professional

• Act within the practice and nursing code of ethics & appropriate level of clinical competence at all times.
• Maintain awareness of current evidence and research on clinical practices and inform/educate other practice staff.
• Change systems and procedures to ensure compliance with best available evidence as applicable.

OHS

• Consistently be aware of OHS requirements and comply with them.

Infection Control

• Infection control coordinator
• Maintenance of procedure for disposal of contaminated waste.
• Maintenance of procedures for sharps disposal.

Cold Chain Management

• Cold chain coordinator
• Maintain Records for vaccination fridge
• Maintenance of procedure for reporting cold chain breach

General

• Delegation of tasks to other medical and non-medical staff.  Provide direct and indirect supervision to Division 2 Nurse/s.  Assist with other practice duties as required.
• Relieving reception staff for break

Expected behaviors and personal attributes

• Demonstrate a knowledge of and compliance with all relevant legislation and common law obligations affecting nursing.
• Discharge of duty of care in the course of practice including meeting practice standards, and accountability for nursing actions.
• Demonstrate knowledge of policies and procedural guidelines that have legal implications, for example, ensure documentation conforms to legal requirements.
• Practice only within the limits of their educational preparation and competence.
• Identify and respond to unsafe practice, for example, implement interventions to prevent unsafe practice and/or contravention of law.
• Demonstrated patient-focused approach in service provision with genuine empathy and interest in their needs.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills across all ages and social groups.
• Be always well-presented, friendly, courteous and obliging.  Represent the practice in a confident and positive manner at all times.
• Undertake all duties in a diligent manner, with honesty and integrity,
• Maintain absolute confidentiality regarding patient and practice information.
• Have a vigilant attitude to accuracy, being prepared to double check as necessary.
• Ability to work cooperatively and independently. & ability to prioritise and organise, with attention to detail.
• Demonstrated commitment to ongoing professional development

Educational Requirements

Essential:

• Appropriate tertiary qualification & registration certificate.
• Professional indemnity cover.
• Minimum of one year nursing experience.
• Demonstrated understanding of the needs of general practice and interest in community-based nursing including patient education and health promotion.
• Knowledge of current immunisation schedules, Diabetes management, asthma management, enhanced primary care items, infection control, CPR and emergency resuscitation techniques, equipment & drugs.

Desirable:

• Competence in the use of relevant equipment & software – Best Practice, PENCS CAT4.
• Experience in similar role as practice nurse or community-based nursing.

• Additional qualifications such as Accredited Women’s Health Certificate, Diabetes Education Certificate, Asthma/Spirometry qualification/education.
• Training or experience in Medicare item numbers & health funds
• Member of APNA.

Skills & Abilities

• Work in consultation, under supervision and for the doctors within the Practice.
• Maintain honest communication at all times with colleagues, supervisors, manager and patients.
• Able to promote team work to ensure provision of quality & professional care.
• Foster & promote the Practice’s image at all times.
• Promote & maintain a positive & pleasant working environment and maintain a good rapport with patients and colleagues.
• Familiar with Accreditation Standards & ensure they are implemented to ensure achievement of Commonwealth Accreditation for 3 yrs and aiming for best practices award in all clinical care areas.
• Able to work closely with the manager to accurately categories patients & maximize funding within current Commonwealth funding system for Medical Practices within Australia.

Hours Of Work

You are expected to arrive and be prepared and ready to start work at the rostered start time for the shift/work.

However it is expected that our staff will work extra time on occasions if this is required to deliver essential patient care.

Breaks:  30 minutes for lunch to be taken in shifts with other staff to ensure continuity of care.

Other features:

Expected to maintain relevant professional registration.

Professional development expected.

Expected to maintain up-to-date immunisations required in nursing care

You are expected to notify to the organisation before the commencement of employment:

• any ongoing investigations against you by the Nursing board that you are aware or expected to be aware of.
• If you were notified of unprofessional conduct by an employer in the past 5 years
• serious breach in contractual obligation or in-patient care which necessitated in termination of employment or was asked to resign as a result of such a breach.