Caring for patients with a wide range of health conditions.
Occupational Profile
This occupation is found in health care. District Nurses work with adults of all ages and communities. They work across numerous different organisations and settings for example; primary care, social care, third sector organisations, hospitals including mental health, hospices, prisons and other community services to ensure that patients get the right care, at the right time, every time.
The broad purpose of the occupation is work with individuals and populations. This can mean working with people in their own home (which could be an individual’s house, a care home, a hostel, a prison, hotels etc.), a healthcare setting e.g. GP practice, hospital, hospice etc. or even the streets in the case of the homeless population. District Nurses assess and care for patients with a wide range of health conditions and are accountable for a large varied complex caseload where they prioritise care, assess risk, prescribe medication, dressings and appliances in accordance with legislation, manage changing local demands which require very careful oversight and case management. They plan, provide and monitor complex community nursing care and services. They manage a caseload of complex patients and families/carers, either with long-term conditions over a protracted period or those with acute short episodes of care, by leading a clinical team who often work in isolation without immediate and direct access to medical advice. They influence and lead change management initiatives within the service, for example, new ways of working, new models of care.
They are responsible for delivery of care across a 24 hour period 365 days a year anticipating problems and crises and proactively planning to prevent unnecessary hospital admission and facilitating timely discharge across a range of patient pathways e.g. end of life care, tissue viability etc.
In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with patients, their carer’s and relatives and a wide variety of health and social care professionals including GP’s, social workers and hospital staff. District Nurses work with adults of all ages and communities. They work across numerous different organisations and settings for example; primary care, social care, third sector organisations, hospitals including mental health, hospices, prisons and other community services to ensure that patients get the right care, at the right time, every time. An employee in this occupation will be responsible for their own work as an autonomous, independent practitioner, whilst contributing and leading collaborative work with other health and care professionals. In addition the occupation will be responsible for a caseload of patients and the team responsible for delivering care to that caseload.
Summary of Standard
https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/district-nurse/
Full Standard
