Role Characteristics
- Assess, plan, develop, implement, and evaluate treatment programmes that promote health and well-being
- Work with other Health Care Professionals to diagnose, monitor, manage and treat long-term conditions
- Support patients to adopt health promotion strategies that help people to live healthily
- Implement and participate in vaccination and immunisation programmes for both adults and children
- Wound management, dressings and assisting with minor operations
- Meet the needs of patients and support the delivery of policy and procedures within the practice
Skills
- Active listening
- Advice giving
- Empathy
- Decision-making
- Record keeping
- Observation
Day in the life
Watch the video to learn about a day in the life of a General Practice Nurse.
Routes into this role
Here are some example routes that can lead into this role.
- GCSEs
- BTEC, T-Level or A-Levels
- Undergraduate degree
- Degree apprenticeship
- Foundation degree
How to become
To become a General Practice Nurse, you will need a degree in Nursing (Adult Nursing is the most common route). There are many ways to access university level education, and you can explore lots of current opportunities in the section below.
You might:
- Study A Levels, BTECs, or T Levels. Useful subjects might include Biology, Health and Social Care, Applied Science, or Maths.
- Complete an Access to Higher Education course, a college course designed for adults who want to access higher education but do not have the traditional requirements like A Levels.
- Complete a Foundation Year, a year-long university course designed to prepare you for studying Nursing if you do not have the required qualifications or grades to go straight into a degree.
- Alongside education, you may also want to build some relevant work or voluntary experience in healthcare settings, care homes, community organisations, or other customer-facing roles and think about developing your communication, teamwork, problem-solving, decision-making, resilience, and patient care skills.
You will then be ready to study at a university level. This can include:
- Studying an undergraduate degree in Adult Nursing (BSc). This usually takes 3 years.
- Completing a Registered Nurse Degree Apprenticeship, allowing you to gain experience in the workplace whilst studying for your nursing qualification.
After qualifying, you will usually gain experience as a Registered Nurse, often working in hospitals, community services, or other healthcare settings before moving into General Practice Nursing.
You may then undertake additional training in areas such as condition management for common long-term conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and asthma, giving vaccinations, performing wound care, health promotion, and prescribing to develop your skills as a General Practice Nurse.
To practice as a Nurse, you must be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
Where can this role lead
From your role as a General Practice Nurse, you could specialise in areas such as chronic disease management, vaccinations and immunisations, cervical screening, or wound care, developing advanced expertise in supporting people with specific health needs.
Your skills in assessment, patient education, preventative healthcare, and long-term condition management would also transfer well into sideways moves to other nursing specialisms, including School Nurse, Learning Disability Nurse, Health Visitor, or Mental Health Nurse, allowing you to work with different patient groups and in different settings.
Progression might involve undertaking additional qualifications to become an Advanced Clinical Practitioner or Nurse Prescriber, enabling you to take on greater clinical responsibility. You could also move into leadership positions such as a Service Manager, or Project Manager, helping to shape and improve healthcare services.
If you enjoy improving population health and preventative care, you could also pursue careers such as Public Health Practitioner or Health Trainer, using your clinical knowledge to support healthier communities and reduce health inequalities.
Location
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Community Settings
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Pharmacies
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GP Practices
Working hours
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Weekdays
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Part Time
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Full Time
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Casual Hours
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Overtime
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Flexible Hours
Opportunities
Leeds City College Health and Social Care courses
- Organisation
- Leeds City College
BSc Nursing (Adult)
- Organisation
- University of Huddersfield
Volunteering in Health and Care
- Organisation
- Volunteering Opportunities
NHS Student Nursing Hub
- Organisation
- NHS England
BSc Nursing (Adult)
- Organisation
- Leeds Beckett University
BSc Nursing (Adult)
- Organisation
- University of Bradford