Practice Nurses play an important and pivotal role in healthcare providing a range of interventions and services to patients in General Practice and Primary Care settings. While most Practice Nurses work in GP surgeries and doctor led clinics, others are working as autonomous practitioners in community practices and nurse led centres.
Practice Nurses are presented with an ever increasing range of conditions and patient needs as the role is constantly changing and evolving. The extended roles and range of clinical skills which may be provided by a Practice Nurse depend on the needs of the patient and the qualifications, skills, competencies and scope of practice of each individual Practice Nurse (NMBI, 2015).
Practice Nurses have a responsibility to ensure that they are suitably qualified, skilled and competent in carrying out each clinical procedure and intervention that they undertake. Developing guidelines for clinical practice is an important part of the Practice Nurse role, but the task of researching, developing and producing guidelines is time-consuming, and it can be difficult to find the information required as and when needed.
Practice Nursing: Clinical Guidelines and Procedures in Practice written by a Practice Nurse, and based on local and national guidelines, provides a comprehensive overview and a step by step guide for nurses carrying out a wide range of clinical procedures in practice. The book contains over 100 clinical guidelines and procedures with illustrations, tables, charts and diagrams. In producing these clinical guidelines, the author hopes that this book will prove useful as a resource and reference guide for other nurses in general practice and primary care settings.