Staff Nurse – Community Services

Job/Role Summary

• Carrying out nursing procedures in patient’s homes, health centre, and General Practitioners surgeries.
• Management of a team and caseload in the absence of community nursing sister.
• Ensuring high standard of care is maintained. Planning individual, evidence-based care. Assessing patients for nursing aids and equipment and ensuring proper use of same. Assessing patients for manual handling equipment including advice to patients and their carers. Assessing and providing continence aids.
• Advising patients and their carers/families on safe storage of medicine.
• Liaison with G.P’s and other members of the multidisciplinary team on patients and their condition.
• Participation in research and assistance with the education of students and their supervisor.

Specific qualifications and experience required

• Registration on part 1 level 1 of the live NMC Register.
• Two years post registration experience as a Registered General Nurse.
• Sound knowledge of current nursing practice, trends and issues within nursing.
• Knowledge of current trends in Health and personal social services including Community Care Act.
• Effective communication skills, ability to work within a multiprofessional environment.
• Current UK driving licence.

Career Milestones

After qualifying I soon gained a position as Matron of a private nursing home. This gave me an insight into the world of management dealing with both staff and patient issues. During my time as a staff nurse on a busy surgical ward I would take charge of the ward on occasions on night and day duty. This gave me the opportunity to develop many skills inclusive of ward management, staff management, clinical expertise and communication skills. Whilst undertaking a number of courses, for example, wound care, and the principles of infection control, I became a link nurse for these issues and received experience in managing specific areas of clinical practice within a team and communication of new skills. It was during this time that I received experience in auditing practice, presenting findings back to the ward team.

What attracted you to this job?

• Working in the community – the variety of being ‘out and about’
• Regular hours, no evening work and starting later in the morning
• Carrying out clinical nursing skills and increasing my expertise in specific areas.

Enjoyable aspects of the job/role

• The ability to structure my own day, to organise which patients I will see first, by priortising the workload
• Carrying out clinical nursing skills with patients in their own home
• Being able to work one to one with a patient and having the time to focus on that patient and complete the job without interruptions.

Important success factors

• My previous employment at a nursing home, nursing people in a home environment, and the experience I gained working on a surgical ward for seven years
• The staff I worked with, their time, knowledge and encouragement. A good supportive team from the top down
• The opportunities to go on professional courses and the knowledge and skills gained from those courses.

Advice for those considering the type of job/role?

Working in the community provides you with a different pace of work which is something you would have to get used to at the start. Allow yourself time to adjust to that and remind yourself of the need to adopt a pace of work that fits in with the patients and their needs. This type of environment also brings variety of work and with that, more use of clinical nursing skills. You must be aware that you will be working more on your own and making use of available resources. Whilst in the job you will learn to do this and should give yourself time to make these adjustments to your method of working. You will also need to get used to making assessments and decisions on your own and having the confidence in your own judgment to do that.

Key skills that can be gained within this job/role?

• Updating my clinical skills.
• Developing an expertise in certain areas of clinical practice.

Career Profiles