What Does a General Practice Nurse Do?

Have you ever heard of the term ‘General Practice Nurse’ but not sure what their role is? If so, read below as we discuss what a General Practice Nurse does.

What is a General Practice Nurse?

General Practice Nurses work within General Practice (GP) surgeries and assess, screen, and treat patients of all ages. In addition to providing traditional aspects of nursing care such as wound care, immunisations, and administration of medicines, they run clinics for patients with long term conditions such as asthma, heart disease and diabetes. They also offer health promotion advice in areas such as contraception, weight loss, smoking cessation, and travel immunisations.

Where do General Practice Nurses work?

General Practice Nurses are based in General Practice (GP) surgeries. GPs operate in buildings that are placed in communities. Some surgeries work in purpose-built buildings – health centres along with other community-based services and others work in buildings that have been adapted specifically for use by General Practitioners and their teams.

Patients book appointments to see the General Practice Nurse via the practice reception and GP Nurses work from a room in the practice that has all the equipment that they need to work with patients. They may also work via the telephone to do follow up consultations with their patients.

What types of patients do General Practice Nurses see?

General Practice Nurses deliver population-based services, either to a specific local area or population, and therefore need to have an understanding of the public health profile and population needs to be proactive in ensuring services are, as far as possible, matched to the identified needs. 

Patients in General Practice are from all age groups, but many will have long term conditions that may include diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease such as COPD, cancer, neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease multiple sclerosis, dementia, renal/ urological conditions, and musculoskeletal conditions. Some patients, in addition to their physical ill health, may have learning disabilities, chronic mental health issues. They may work with children who are having childhood immunisations to women who are attending for health screening – cervical sampling.

Who do General Practice Nurses work with?

General Practice Nurses work on their own without direct supervision. Although GP Nurses work alone with patients, they have access to the wider General Practice team and other healthcare professionals involved in the patients’ care. This typically includes doctors, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, and dietitians.

Helpful resources:

If you would like to know more about General Practice Nurses, you can visit the NHS Health Careers website and the Queen’s Nursing Institute website.

• https://www.capitalnurselondon.co.uk/be-a-london-nurse/types-of-nursing/community-nursing/
• A day in the life of a general practice nurse : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ff_wNCdT6A
• A compilation of interviews with General Practice Nurses and their patients : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxnMVHdf11M&t=152s
• Careers in practice nursing : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x4e9h6PgBU

Joanna Tuazon

CapitalNurse International Recruitment Community Lead

I am an internationally educated nurse who came to London in 2016 to further my career. I have a well-rounded experience in community nursing and started my career in the NHS as a community staff nurse in health visiting moving on to cover areas such as rehabilitation, district nursing, and nurse-led services. Currently, I am the Community IR Lead for CapitalNurse. As an internationally recruited nurse myself, my passion is to have a wider, positive impact not only in the way healthcare is delivered to patients but also in the experience of internationally recruited nurses from recruitment to deployment and beyond.