POSITION DESCRIPTION District Nurse Date Produced October 2002 Date Reviewed February 2014 Position Holder's Name : Position Holder's Signature :... Manager Name : Manager Signature :...
PURPOSE OF THE POSITION The purpose of this position is to provide nursing care and treatment to clients in the Counties Manukau area. This will be provided in a range of settings including the clients own home in conjunction with other members of the interdisciplinary team. Clinical expertise is required to ensure client treatment and care planning is comprehensive and in line with best practice. The workload involves a range of skills including (but not limited to) wound care, palliative care, continence management and management of intravenous and subcutaneous devices.. The role requires close liaison with members of the interdisciplinary team, hospital staff and primary health care to ensure comprehensive and effective care for clients. Vision & Values Organisational Shared Vision Our DHB shared Vision is to work in partnership with our communities to improve the health status of all, with particular emphasis on Maaori and Pacific peoples and other communities with health disparities. We will do this by leading the development of an improved system of healthcare that is more accessible and better integrated. We will dedicate ourselves to serving our patients and communities by ensuring the delivery of both quality focussed and cost effective healthcare, at the right place, right time and right setting. Organisational Values Partnership Working alongside and encouraging others in health and related sectors to ensure a common focus on, and strategies for achieving health gain and independence in our population. Care and Respect Treating people with respect and dignity, valuing individual and cultural differences and diversity Professionalism Teamwork Innovation Responsibility We will act with integrity and embrace the highest ethical standards Achieving success by working together and valuing each other s skills and contributions Constantly seeking and striving for new ideas and solutions Using and developing our capabilities to achieve outstanding results and taking accountability for our individual and collective actions
PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS General Manager Adult Rehabilitation and Health of Older People (ARHOP) Service Manager Adult Rehabilitation and Health of the Older Person and Localities Nurse Leader Primary Health Care Operations Manager Nurse Educator Liaison Nurse Clinical Nurse Coordinator District Nurse Key: - - - - - - Professional Accountability - -------- Operational Accountability
NATURE AND SCOPE OF RESPONSIBILITIES Key Accountability Leadership Professional Development: Staff Expectations Act as an effective role model by demonstrating high levels of clinical competence. Oversee the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of nursing care and practice within the speciality. Advocate on behalf of client/family/colleagues as appropriate and in a culturally safe manner Participate in business, nursing and education planning processes at a strategic and service level Promote activities of the Executive Leadership team and ensure staff are aware of and utilise the appropriate policies and procedures. Identify deficits in clinical and professional competencies of individuals and services and take appropriate action Promote health promotion & education across the CMDHB Provide direct and/or indirect clinical support for enrolled nurses and facilitate the orientation process of new staff Participate in peer review and clinical supervision Professional Development: Self Maintain and update own knowledge base related to clinical and/or educational speciality Attend educational opportunities and conferences relevant to the role and scope of practice and use this knowledge to improve practice Maintain currency with own professional knowledge and clinical skills to meet professional registration requirements Actively participate in relevant professional organisations. Pro-actively contribute to presentation and the publication of issues related to clinical practice. Critique research findings and use these as
a basis for implementation of best practice. Clinical Practice Promote innovative and creative clinical nursing practice and ensure it is validated with best practice and research activities. Initiate and/or contribute to forums that critique current practice and debate topical issues Work collaboratively with all members of the health care team to ensure staff receive high quality educational input and support Promote a client focused approach Promote cost effective nursing practice Contribute to the development of standards of practice, protocols and policies for the community setting Provide clinical expertise in the planning and delivery of client care in a variety of community settings. Deliver client care and co-ordination of services within a care management model. Education Ensure that all CMDHB policies, procedures and guidelines can be accessed and complied with and that staff are familiar with these. Provide clinical expertise in the planning and delivery of patient education. Provide expertise and educational support to the clinical teams. Promote the concept of self care HEALTH & SAFETY To recognise individual responsibility for workplace Health & Safety under the Health and Safety Act 1992 CMDHB Health and Safety policies are read and understood and relevant procedures applied to own work activities Workplace hazards are identified and reported including self-management of hazards where appropriate Can identify health and Safety representative for area Quality and Risk Contribute to the identification of specifications, trials and purchase of new equipment. Contribute to the identification of possible
research/quality projects and participate in the development, implementation and evaluations of proposals Resource Management workforce financial Participate in workforce and development planning Participate in budgeting/business planning process Utilisation of information technology Demonstrate an ability to use the phone and paging systems Demonstrate an ability to access and use available clinical information systems Be conversant with applications required for your specific discipline/role. For example, Community on Line, PIMS, Concerto, Outlook, etc Maintain own professional development by attending relevant IT educational programmes PROBLEM COMPLEXITY The District Nurse is expected to manage a variety of complex and unpredictable problems and issues related to a wide range of clinical activities incorporated in their scope of practice. The range of problems/issues will be diverse and require solutions customised to meet the circumstances for Home Health Care. There will be a requirement to be able to prioritise issues and negotiate time frames while still providing a quality customer service. Failure to do so could impact on the organisation in terms of risk management. Opportunities will provide innovative options to meet the needs of the service across the community and clinic settings. SCOPE FOR ACTION The District Nurse will be required to develop innovative approaches to problem solving and utilise the skills of other interdisciplinary team members to co-ordinate and resolve problems. They will need to negotiate with and co-ordinate a variety of staff at all levels across the organisation & community setting and will frequently need to develop individual solutions for each issue and problem.
COMMUNICATION The District Nurse will communicate with a variety of internal staff as well as varied agencies and organisations external to CMDHB. They will be required to have excellent communication and negotiation skills so that they can ensure appropriate and timely clinical care can be provided in a cohesive manner from a range of services across tertiary, secondary and primary health settings. DIMENSION OF THE POSITION The District Nurse is responsible to the Operations Manager for achievement of objectives and goals for their service. The District Nurse will be required to provide a contribution at the organisational level, planning and managing a caseload and will make recommendations for improvement in clinical practice within the service. This includes effective liaison with staff and appropriate external parties and groups, coordination of available resources, optimisation of staff skills and effective training and development. POSITIONS REPORTING Directly Indirectly Nil Enrolled Nurse, Support Staff, Students. PERSON SPECIFICATION ESSENTIAL DESIRABLE EDUCATION Registered Nurse with a current annual practicing certificate Post Graduate qualification or equivalent in relevant clinical area. Post registration course in specialty EXPERIENCE/ A minimum of 2 years recent Functioning at Proficient or
KNOWLEDGE SPECIFIC SKILLS PERSONAL and PROFESSIONAL QUALITIES clinical experience. The ability to work independently and be a team player. Knowledge of current issues within nursing and in their specialty area. Basic Knowledge and understanding of medico/legal and ethical responsibilities. Full clean Drivers Licence Experience in problem solving, priority setting, and planning. Ability to self-evaluate and reflect on practice. Ability to critique research and use it as the basis of practice. A strong patient focus. A strong commitment and genuine interest in quality and service. A capacity to demonstrate strong clinical leadership. A commitment to the development of the nursing profession within CMDHB and life long learning. A professional development plan. The ability to communicate effectively with all levels of staff and develop relevant networks. A commitment to cultural awareness and its application to nursing practice. Active involvement in relevant, professional/other organisations. A passion for improving nursing practice and standards of care. Expert level on the PDRP with a current portfolio Research skills Negotiation/conflict management skills. Demonstrated ability in the development and management of staff.