Practice nurse

You can get into this job by applying directly.

Direct Application

To apply directly for work in general practice, you need to be a qualified and registered adult, child, mental health or learning disability nurse.

When applying for jobs, it might be an advantage if you have experience in:

• chronic disease management, like diabetes or asthma
• child immunisation
• cervical screening
• taking blood samples

You may need to do the Specialist Practitioner - General Practice Nursing course . This is a training programme approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Return to nursing

If you've been out of nursing for some time, you could do a return to general practice nursing course .

You can also do work placements in the community to help you move into a general practice nursing role.

More Information

Registrations

you'll need to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council

Further Information

You can find out more about how to become a practice nurse from Health Careers.

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

• sensitivity and understanding
• to be flexible and open to change
• counselling skills including active listening and a non-judgemental approach
• the ability to work well with others
• knowledge of psychology
• excellent verbal communication skills
• customer service skills
• the ability to think clearly using logic and reasoning
• to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Restrictions and Requirements

You'll need to:

• pass enhanced background checks

Day-to-day tasks

As a practice nurse, you could:

• run clinics for conditions like asthma, diabetes and heart problems
• treat wounds, apply dressings and take blood samples
• carry out child and adult vaccinations and travel immunisations
• support screening programmes in the practice
• monitor patients' blood pressure and cholesterol levels
• give advice on areas like family planning and stopping smoking
• help patients to manage long term conditions
• take part in patient education and health promotion schemes
• supervise healthcare assistants

Working environment

You could work at a GP practice.

Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding.

You may need to wear a uniform.

With experience, you could:

• specialise in health promotion, chronic disease management, diabetes or asthma care
• do a further qualification to work as a nurse practitioner and manage your own caseload of patients
• train to become a specialist community practitioner, providing advanced care while leading a team
• move into service management, teaching or research