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Emergency

Practice nurse

Practice nurses work in GP surgeries to assess, screen, treat and educate patients, and help doctors give medical care.

Annual Salary

£28,000 to £50,000

Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

38 to 40 a week

You could work: evenings / weekends; occasionally

3.8%
Future employment

There will be 3.8% more Practice nurse jobs in 2027.

Day to day tasks

In this role you could:

  • run clinics for conditions like asthma, diabetes, heart problems and skin disorders
  • apply dressings, treat wounds and take samples of blood and urine
  • give advice on family planning, contraception, blood pressure and stopping smoking
  • carry out infant injections, vaccinations and travel immunisations
  • help patients to manage long term conditions

Working environment

You may need to wear a uniform.

You could work at a GP practice.

Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding.

You can get into this job by applying directly.

Direct application

To apply directly to 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 give you an advantage if you have experience in:

  • chronic disease management, like diabetes or asthma
  • child immunisations
  • cervical screenings
  • taking blood samples

You might need to do the Specialist Practitioner - General Practice Nursing course. This is an approved programme by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Return to nursing

If you've been out of nursing for a while, you could do a return to general practice nursing course.

You do not need previous general practice experience. You can do work placements in the community to help you move into a general practice nurse role.

Requirements and restrictions

You'll need to:

More information

Further information

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

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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

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

You'll need:

  • counselling skills including active listening and a non-judgemental approach
  • knowledge of psychology
  • the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
  • sensitivity and understanding
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • to be flexible and open to change
  • customer service skills
  • knowledge of English language
  • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
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