NES General Practice Nursing Programme Case Study
Deborah (Debbie) Coulter
Practice Nurse
Breich Valley Medical Practice
Fauldhouse and Stoneyburn
West Lothian
About the practice
Breich Valley Medical Practice with four GPs serves a patient population of 5,000
over two sites across the West Lothian villages of Fauldhouse and Stoneyburn.
1. How would you describe your current role?
I am employed by the Medical Practice as the Practice Nurse and work with the
four GPs there. The bulk of my nursing duties support the fulfilment of the GP
contract including providing patient monitoring and care under the QOF Register.
Examples of such patient monitoring might cover:
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Annual reviews for patients on the Asthma register
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) reviews
Patients with hypertension
Cervical smear tests
2. Can you give some background on your job and how it has changed since
you’ve been in post?
I qualified as a nurse in 1991 but worked mostly in hospital based roles until
2000. I then worked part time over the next several years while I raised my
children and combined work with family life. In 2010 I joined Breich Valley
Medical Practice as the Keep Well nurse and held this role for two years before I
successfully applied for the job as Practice Nurse in 2012.
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3. What made you apply for the General Practice Nursing Programme?
I was new to Practice Nursing and had read an article by Susan Kennedy in one
of the nursing magazines which made me want to find out more. The content of
the programme appeared to cover all of the aspects of the Practice Nurse role
and the responsibilities I would be undertaking such as chronic disease
management and patient monitoring.
4. How long was the Programme and what format did it take?
The Programme lasted twelve months and consisted of a mix of eleven central
study days, guidance on how to prepare for tutorials, weekly tutorials based on
the Programme handbook on a one-to-one basis with an educational supervisor,
formative assessments in a practice setting, evidence of applying learning with
support from a Practice preceptor and four quality-assured national eLearning
programmes.
5. Which aspects of the programme did you enjoy? What stands out?
I enjoyed the central teaching days which were full of content. Topics I
particularly liked were the lectures on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
(COPD), allergies and the menopause. The central teaching days also enabled
me to get to know the other participants on the Programme and find out about
them, their practice and their experience. The twelve months passed very
quickly.
6. How has participating in the programme affected you or your current role?
It has given me so much confidence to do the job. Although I already had
certificates in cardio vascular disease management, spirometry and cervical
screening and had training in NHS Lothian’s Weight Management programme, I
gained so much more knowledge on the programme as well as the competence
to do my job better.
I also gained more insight into what I could do such as implementing projects to:
support awareness and uptake of screening for breast and bowel cancer;
encouraging patients to take up walking challenges for better health; producing
leaflets (funded by the Community Development Trust) on medal routes (walks)
in the village (Fauldhouse). The GPs and Practice Manager were also extremely
supportive.
7. Would you recommend the General Practice Nursing (GPN) Programme to
others and if yes, why?
Yes, I would definitely recommend the GPN Programme. The knowledge and
skills I have gained from it are invaluable. The Programme also offers lots of
practical and educational support with highly experienced Practice Nurses as
tutors and help available face to face or by phone.
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