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Practice nurse

Alternative titles for this job include

Practice nurses assess, screen and treat patients in GP surgeries and give advice on healthy living choices.

Average salary (a year)

£40,000 Starter

to

£57,000 Experienced

Typical hours (a week)

37 to 40

You could work

evenings / weekends occasionally

How to become

Explore the different ways to get into this role.

How to become

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

Registration

Further information

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

What it takes

Find out what skills you’ll use in this role.

What it takes

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:

What you’ll do

Discover the day to day tasks you’ll do in this role.

What you'll do

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.

Career path and progression

Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities.

Career path and progression

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

Current opportunities

Find apprenticeships, courses and jobs available near you.

Current opportunities

Apprenticeships In England

We can't find any apprenticeship vacancies in England for a practice nurse right now.

The Find an apprenticeship service can help you with your search, send alerts when new apprenticeships become available and has advice on how to apply.

Courses In England

Access to HE Diploma (Nursing)

  • Provider: BOCK CONSULTANCY & PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT LIMITED
  • Start date: Flexible
  • Location: Not known

Access to HE - Nursing

  • Provider: HRUC (Harrow, Richmond & Uxbridge Colleges)
  • Start date: 13 September 2027
  • Location: Harrow
Find courses near you

Jobs In the United Kingdom

The Find a job service can help you with your search for jobs and send alerts when new jobs become available.

Related careers

District nurse

Children's nurse

Nurse

Community matron

Mental health nurse

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