Welcome

NHS Direct Nurse Advisor

Is this the job for me?•Working at NHS Direct is very different from working anywhere else in

the health service

•We do not train our new recruits to be nurses, but to use their nursing

skills in a different way

•The following slides will challenge you, they are not meant to be off

putting, rather to tell it as it is, so there are no surprises for new staff

and also show that we understand what you will be feeling and that you

will be supported

Questions to ask yourself!

• Am I competent in using a computer?

• Am I flexible?

Am I committed?

Can I work well under pressure?

Can I deal with stressful situations?

Can I use critical thinking’?

Do I thrive in a fast-changing environment?

Am I a team player?

Do I strive to continuously improve my performance?

Do I want to provide a quality service?

Using a computer

• You must be able to use a computer, feel confident in opening and

closing programs, accessing and using e-mail and the intranet

• You do not need to be a touch typists

• Once someone has been successful in interview and assessment

and had a provisional job offer, support can be given re IT skills (Elite

basic IT skills and e-type) if requested before staff commence

employment

Am I flexible?

• We are a 24-hour service and are busiest in the

evenings/weekends/bank holidays (out-of-hours)

Shift times and patterns are different to hospitals, we need staff on

duty when calls come in

You will be rostered to meet the needs of the service

Can I work well under pressure?•At busy times calls are transferred continuously to nurses

•You will have targets to meet, which will be explained to you by your manager

•We pride ourselves on delivering an excellent, safe service with the correct outcomes for

our callers, at times this is challenging so we need staff who are committed to work with us

to achieve this

•In line with the rest of the NHS we have to work to targets, these are set by our

commissioner the East of England Health Authority, and include things like how quickly we

answer calls, return calls to patients and outcome

•We have financial penalties if we don’t achieve our targets from our commissioner

•This means a greater focus on performance management than possibly

in other parts of the NHS

However new staff are given time to develop their competencies on

using the system and supported to do this

Types of calls

You will need the ability to “switch” from one speciality to another

As well as general calls you will get specific calls about :

Mental Health

Suicidal calls

Paediatric calls

But you will receive specialist training in dealing with these

Can I use critical thinking?

You must be able to:

•Not jump to conclusions

•Not make assumptions

•Reflect on your actions

•Analyse and evaluate information

•Consider is my outcome the right one for the patient rather than

what the patient wants?

Do I thrive in a fast-changing environment?

Our system is constantly being reviewed and updated to take account of the

latest research and evidenced based practice, the whole of the NHS is

embarking on a period of change and we will be included in this

This may include:

System changes / upgrades

Changes to type of calls received

Changes to way calls are dealt with

Different models for different services

Introduction of new services

Continuous new guidance / procedures being introduced

You will be supported through these changes and given training as required

Am I a team player?

Working with others supporting them

Considerate of others, keeping workstations clean and tidy, we hot

desk

Covering for breaks

Swapping shifts

Do I strive to continuously improve my performance?

Do you want to improve and always give your best performance

We want staff who are willing to improve, take on new challenges and

keep themselves up to date

Are you able to accept and act on constructive criticism and feedback

from team leaders/colleagues

Are you able to learn from mistakes

Are you able to Identify your own areas for development and want to

develop them

Do I want to provide a quality service?

Do you:

•Take a pride in your work

Want to provide the best service for the patients

Care about what you’re doing

One measure of quality is by using call reviews, and each nurse will

have 4 calls reviewed each month, with feedback given

Answered “Yes” to all these questions?

Then this is the job for you!!

Training

Two weeks classroom training; learning how to use our systems and

your nursing skills in a different way

Then its three weeks supported practice, a transition from the

classroom to independent practice whilst being supported by experienced

nurses

Assessment milestones

Classroom – achieving success in skills functionality & achieving a safe

practice call ire showing us you can use the system

Week 1 supported practice – achieving three consecutive

safe/satisfactory calls

Week 2 supported practice – achieving five safe/satisfactory calls out of

eight, plus achieving satisfactory results in two generic call reviews

Week 3 supported practice – achieving sign off by manager