I enjoy being an advanced practitioner and love the variety that the job involves. My favourite part of my job is when I get the opportunity to work with other clinicians.
What are the key responsibilities and duties of an advanced practitioner in your field
Responding to 999 calls, providing advanced assessment, clinical decision making and patient care. Remote consultation, triage, providing crew advice and dispatch of APP resources when working within the Emergency Operations Centre ( EOC).
Rotational working within primary care and Urgent Treatment Centre. I have additional duties as clinical supervisor where I also provide Clinical Supervision and support for trainee and qualified APP’s
How does your role as an advanced practitioner differ from other healthcare professionals or practitioners?
Due to the nature of the pre-hospital environment, there is a level of unpredictability, complexity and variability in the patients we see. A large proportion of my work also involves solo working.
What additional training or education did you undergo to become an advanced practitioner?
We completed a 4-week induction program, 3 to 4 months of one to one mentoring, regular clinical supervision and also a 3 year MSc Advanced Clinical Practitioner and non-medical prescribing.
How do you collaborate and work with other members of the healthcare team in your role as an advanced practitioner?
We work closely with GP’s, community nursing teams, hospices, palliative care and often refer into secondary care (ED, Surgeons, SDEC and Medical doctors)
What types of patients or conditions do you typically encounter in your practice as an advanced practitioner?
We will see patients of all age ranges who vary in their conditions, in including all emergency 999 calls. However, due to our training and experience we will try to task our practitioners to the following:
End of life and palliative care
Frailty and or elderly complex patients
All children
Learning disabilities and autism patients
Can you provide examples of specific interventions or procedures that you perform as an advanced practitioner?
Wound care including suturing, relocation of patella’s, point of care venous blood tests, patient group directives for a range of medications and independent prescribers.
How do you stay updated with the latest advancements and research in your field as an advanced practitioner?
Monthly clinical governance days, CPD events in primary and urgent care. Research papers, NICE and Clinical Knowledge Summaries and other guidelines. Learning from each other whilst undertaking peer review, documentation audit and investigation.
What challenges or complexities do you face in your role as an advanced practitioner?
Our patients are often complex and sometimes we do not have access to all of the medical notes and patient information. This is much more challenging when we work outside of normal business hours.
Can you describe a particularly rewarding or memorable experience you had in your role as an advanced practitioner?
I enjoy being an advanced practitioner and love the variety that the job involves. My favourite part of my job is when I get the opportunity to work with other clinicians. This can be when rotational working, supporting other ambulance crews or carrying out clinical supervision with other advanced practitioners. It can be a great opportunity to learn from each other and share learning and experiences.
Collaborate with other Advanced Practitioners
