Career Descriptions
Available roles in primary care across Coventry and Warwickshire
Click on the job title you are interested in to find out more about the role.
Administrative and clerical roles
Administration Assistant
Administration Assistant typically includes general office and workflow tasks, as well as ad hoc reception and secretarial support. Depending on the specific needs of a practice, you may see administration roles advertised as combined with that of a Receptionist.
Day to day duties may include:
- Managing financial transactions and appointment records
- Attending to information requests
- Welcoming patients when they arrive at the practice
- Answering the telephone and making appointments
Entry requirements:
Formal qualifications are not required for this role. However, you will need to have strong organisational and customer service skills, as well as good numeracy, literacy and IT ability.
Medical Secretary
A Medical Secretary supports GPs and Nurses with general secretarial duties such as typing patient letters, reports and referrals. You will also assist with addressing patient enquiries and administration tasks such as report generation.
You may work for a senior staff member or staff group and support the work of the department by taking care of administration tasks. In addition to working with colleagues in the wider healthcare team, you will also come into contact with patients.
Entry requirements:
Formal qualifications are not required for this role. However, you will need to have strong IT skills and good numeracy and literacy ability. You will be naturally organised and methodical, be confident in speaking to and working with various people at different levels and comfortable using medical terminology.
Receptionist
Receptionists are usually the first person that a patient speaks to on the phone or at a GP practice.
Working alongside the clinical and administration staff, duties may include:
- Answering the telephone and making appointments
- Welcoming patients when they arrive at the practice
- Administration tasks, such as data entry
- Signposting patients to relevant information or services
You will need to demonstrate excellent communication, team-working and organisational ability, in addition to good numeracy, literacy and IT skills. Formal qualifications are not required for this position.
Career progression:
Receptionists have the option to complete training in care navigation so that you can be involved with signposting patients to a service or clinician. You may also be able to study for an NVQ or similar qualification.
GP role
General Practitioner
As a General Practitioner, you are the first point of contact with patients so you will need extensive knowledge to treat the many different medical conditions. You will have exceptional communication and problem-solving skills to effectively help patients of different ages and backgrounds, as well as members of the wider healthcare team.
If you like variety, becoming a GP is likely to be a rewarding career, where you have opportunities to develop a portfolio career, in addition to developing long-term relationships with your patients and the local community.
Key responsibilities include:
- Meeting with patients to clinically assess, diagnose and monitor a condition
- Prescribing medicines and treatments
- Completing investigations, such as blood tests, to support diagnosis and referring patients to specialist consultants for further tests
- Supporting patients to play an active role in their own care and to encourage self-management where appropriate
- Teaching trainee GPs and medical students
- Supervising Pharmacists (link to below section) and Physicians Associates (link to below section)
- Business management
- Performing minor surgery
- Research
Entry requirements:
- Five year university medical degree
- Two year foundation programme
- Three year specialist training course
Nursing roles
Advanced Nurse Practitioner
With advanced clinical practice knowledge, Advanced Nurse Practitioners are responsible for delivering care in partnership with patients and their families or carers.
In this role you will be a key member of the multidisciplinary team, providing safe person-centred care. You will be assessing a range of complex problems in different settings so exceptional problem-solving and communication skills are vital.
Day to day duties include:
- Diagnosing and treating common medical conditions
- Executing clinical assessments
- Carrying out clinical audits
Entry requirements:
- Nurse registration
- A post-graduate programme in Advanced Healthcare Practice
Communication, organisational skills and an ability to effectively prioritise are a must in this job. Due to the variety of duties involved, working as a Nurse in primary care can be demanding, but also incredibly rewarding.
Assistant Practitioner
Assistant Practitioners (APs) are also known as Associate Practitioners and work alongside clinical staff to provide patient care.
In this role you will work under the supervision of a Registered Nurse or Physiotherapist and while you ‘bridge a gap’ in a similar way to that of a Healthcare Assistant, you tend to take on more responsibilities than they do. This is because of your expertise in a specific clinical practice area.
You will have good interpersonal skills to provide excellent patient-centred care. You work well with the wider team and use your initiative and observational skills to problem-solve.
Day to day tasks largely depend on your practice’s needs but may include:
- Assisting with patient assessments
- Carrying out diagnostic tests, such as blood pressure, ECG and spirometry
- Health education and promotion
- Supporting patients with the management of long-term conditions
- Higher clinical skills such as catheterisation, wound care and discharge planning
- Administering medicines and vaccines
Entry requirements:
These typically involve achieving a foundation degree in Health and Social Care, a Qualification and Credit Framework Level 5 Apprenticeship programme or Diploma in Health Care.
You will also need to have relevant work experience within an NHS clinical support role, such as a Healthcare Assistant.
Career progression:
You can study to become a Registered Nurse or work in complementary roles in a different clinical area, education, governance or research.
General Practice Nurse
General Practice Nurses fulfil an important role in supporting patient care and treatment.
Communication, organisational skills and an ability to effectively prioritise are a must in this job. Due to the variety of duties involved, working as a Nurse in primary care can be demanding, but also incredibly rewarding.
Key responsibilities include:
- Supporting patients to manage long-term conditions
- Conducting health screenings
- Treating small injuries
- Helping with minor operations done under local anaesthetic
- Giving advice on family planning and travel health advice/vaccinations
- Supporting patients to stop smoking
- Coordinating vaccination programmes, e.g. child, flu
Entry requirements:
Dependent on practices requirements
We welcome Nurses wanting to transition from secondary care to undertake a new challenge.
Career progression:
With further training and experience, you can apply for more senior roles, such as Senior Practice Nurse/Nurse Practitioner (link to Nurse Practitioner section) or Advanced Nurse Practitioner (link to Advanced Nurse Practitioner section).
Healthcare Assistant
Healthcare Assistants (HCAs) work under the guidance of a Nurse or GP, to support the delivery of patient care services. You fulfill a vital role in assisting the wider team in giving patient treatment, as well as preventative healthcare advice and education.
You are a caring and understanding individual who listens to patients’ needs and works well with colleagues. You will be comfortable juggling a number of different duties and using medical terminology.
Day to day tasks may include:
- Conducting patient health checks and assisting with long-term condition management
- Performing observation checks such as blood pressure and temperature
- Taking blood samples and processing laboratory samples
- Checking the clinical room stock and ordering new stock
- Carrying out health promotion and educational work
Entry requirements:
Formal qualifications are not required but you will need to show that you have good literacy, numeracy, and IT skills.
NVQ or BTEC qualifications in Health and Social Care can be accessed through apprenticeships. These qualifications include the Care Certificate.
Nursing Associate
Nursing associates are regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery council and are a member of the nursing team who bridge the gap between the Healthcare assistant and registered nurse. Thanks to your broad skill set and experience, you will bring valuable insight across the whole organisation.
Everyday duties include:
- Carrying out and recording clinical observations, e.g. temperature, blood pressure, pulse
- Conducting clinical tasks, e.g. electrocardiograms, venepuncture
- Supporting patients and their families or carers with long-term medical conditions
- Passing on information about a patient’s condition to nursing colleagues
With continued professional development, Nursing Associates can provide additional capacity within the nursing team on items such as cervical cytology screening and long-term condition management.
Entry requirements
- GCSEs, grade 9 to 4 (A to C) in maths and English, or Functional Skills Level 2 in maths and English
- Show you can study for a foundation degree level and complete the Nursing Associate Apprenticeship programme
The training programme for the Nursing Associate Apprenticeship covers the four fields of nursing: adult, child, mental health, and learning disability and offers experience in a variety of clinical contexts. It comprises academic learning on one day a week and practical work-based learning activity for the remainder of the week.
Career progression:
As a qualified Nursing Associate, you can go on to train as a Registered Nurse. To do this you can put your training towards a shortened nursing degree or you can complete a degree-level nurse apprenticeship.
Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) Roles
Care Coordinator
Care Coordinators typically work across several practices within a Primary Care Network (PCN), to support patients to get the best care and support. This is a varied and busy role where you work closely with individuals to initially assess their needs and develop a personalised care plan.
As a great listener, with a positive attitude and problem-solving ability, you will support both your patients and your colleagues to achieve improved health outcomes. You will work closely with Social Prescribing Link Workers (link to Social Prescribing Link Worker section), Health and Wellbeing Coaches (link to Health and Wellbeing Coach section) and other primary care roles to coordinate care for your patients.
You are motivated and committed to helping your patients get the best care possible, helping them to take control of their health and wellbeing. As a result, people benefit from timely access to health services and enhanced lives.
Key duties include:
- Meeting patients, as well as any relevant family members or carers, to discuss their needs and available services
- Creating a personalised care plan and regularly checking in with the patient to check on the care they are receiving and whether any adjustments to their plan are needed
- Supporting patients to help them take a self-managed approach to their health and wellbeing, where possible
Entry requirements:
- Diploma or Higher National Diploma (HND) in occupational therapy, social work or mental Health, and/or an NVQ Level 3 in business administration
- European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) or equivalent
- Welfare Rights training
Clinical Pharmacist
As highly qualified experts in medicines, Clinical Pharmacists have responsibility for areas of chronic disease management.
As a valued member of the multidisciplinary practice team, you support patients to manage their long-term conditions. This frees up general practice resource while also reducing waiting times, providing patients with better access to health checks. You will help both patients and team members with polypharmacy advice.
Customer care is at the forefront of this position, and you will value the one-to-one relationships you have with patients. Your strong communication skills and empathetic attitude will help advance quality of care, ensure patient safety and overall, improve the value and outcomes from medicines.
Key responsibilities include:
- Consulting with and treating patients
- Carrying out clinical medication reviews
- Advising and educating staff and patients on medicines
Entry requirements:
- Pharmacy undergraduate degree
- Registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
- Postgraduate experience in pharmacy is usually also required
Community Paramedic
The Paramedic role is evolving from transportation and treatment to mobile healthcare. This means that Paramedics are now conducting clinical assessments and making patient-care recommendations within general practice.
Community Paramedics are generalists who are skilled in a range of tasks and can treat various acute and chronic conditions. Your compassionate and empathetic nature, combined with your strong communication skills will see you in good stead.
Day to day tasks may include:
- Triaging patients
- Conducting face to face and telephone consultations with patients
- Making home visits, including residential and care homes
- Requesting and reviewing laboratory results
- Referring patients to specialist services
- Mentoring and supervising students
Entry requirements:
Before working in primary care Paramedics will have successfully completed a Newly Qualified Paramedic (NQP) programme, or similar, within the first two years of being registered.
All Community Paramedics need to register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and renew every two years. From 2021, every Paramedic must have a BSc (Hons) in paramedic science in order to be on the HCPC register.
Career progression:
Paramedics can now also become independent prescribers, when they are operating at advanced clinical practice levels. To work at an advanced level, you will need to have taken the appropriate post-graduate qualification.
Dietitian
Dietitians improve patient lives by assessing, diagnosing and treating dietary and nutritional problems.
When it comes to treating various complex conditions, your personalised dietary and nutrition support and advice enables patients to self-manage their conditions and make important lifestyle changes.
You play a crucial role in primary care by making ‘prevention’ possible for a range of health issues, such as Type 2 diabetes and obesity, and reducing the need for hospitalisation. Furthermore, your help with patient medication recommendations is invaluable.
You’ll need excellent communication skills and be able to explain complex nutritional science in practical, simple terms. You will use behaviour change techniques such as active listening and negotiating skills to support patients to overcome challenges.
Responsibilities include:
- Giving specialist nutrition and diet advice to patients, their carers and healthcare professionals
- Conducting nutritional assessments and developing patient plans to help individuals self-manage existing health conditions and support them to adopt healthier habits
- Making recommendations and working with colleagues in primary and secondary care about a patient’s diet plan and medications
Entry requirements:
- Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
- BSc (Hons) dietetics degree or shortened postgraduate programme with a relevant first degree
First Contact Physiotherapist
As the first point of contact for patients experiencing musculoskeletal issues, your assessment, diagnosis and advice as a Physiotherapist helps the healthcare system twofold. Patients benefit from quicker access to diagnosis and treatment so that they can manage their condition more effectively and recover. This has a positive impact on GPs and other primary care teams in reducing their caseload.
In addition to having knowledge of medicine and dentistry, you enjoy helping other people and excel in customer service. Your analytical thinking skills will aid you to determine the best patient-centred care and allow you to remain calm should stressful situations arise.
Everyday tasks include:
- Helping patients who have joint or spine issues, sports injuries and who are recovering from accidents or stokes
- Working with adults and children who have physical or mental disabilities
- Helping older people who have physical issues to become more mobile
- Educating patients on ways to self-manage their health and avoid injury
Entry requirements:
- BSc (Hons) in physiotherapy
- Registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
Career progression:
Within primary care, you could move into management or specialise in a specific area of practice, such as working with children, the elderly, cancer patients, sports injuries, critical care.
Health and Wellbeing Coach
Health coaching fulfils part of the NHS Long Term Plan to make personalised care ‘business as usual’ across the public healthcare system. Health and Wellbeing Coaches take a holistic approach to support patients to self-manage their health and achieve their objectives.
Your communication and behavioural change skills are crucially important in engaging people to improve their overall health, preventing further illness and where possible, slowing further deterioration.
Your contribution enriches the skill mix of primary care teams and reduces GPs and other employees’ workload.
Day to day tasks may include:
- Working closely with patients to develop personalised health plans
- Educating patients on how they can look after their own health and helping them to access community support
- Coaching patients to become more resilient and engaged with their own health and wellbeing
- Collating data and report writing
Entry requirements:
You must be educated to GCSE level or equivalent and have good numeracy, literacy and IT ability.
Occupational Therapist
Occupational Therapists in primary care see patients who are not able to do the everyday activities they want or need to do. They work across different age groups, as well as varying levels of physical and mental health.
Occupational Therapists are playing an increasingly vital role in primary care – through intervening early and taking a collaborative approach with colleagues and patients, you help promote independence and prevent further deterioration.
No two patients will be the same, so you’ll be happy with a busy and varied caseload. With your support and expertise, people experiencing health issues and chronic conditions can get back to participating and enjoying everyday activities.
Responsibilities include:
- Identifying and assessing occupational needs
- Creating treatment plans with realistic outcome-focused goals
- Recommending necessary adjustments in patients’ homes and other environments to make daily activities easier
Entry requirements:
- BSc (Hons) degree in occupational therapy
- Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
Pharmacy Technician
General practices now employ Pharmacy Technicians to help them with a variety of duties to help patients to get the most out of their medicines. Pharmacy Technicians are important members of the multidisciplinary team, releasing pharmacist and GP time by resolving medication queries directly with patients. This role complements the skillset of Clinical Pharmacists.
Your accurate and methodical approach and strong customer care skills ensures the provision of safe and effective pharmacy services. You will know the various medicine guidelines inside out and will be able to confidently answer questions from both patients and team members.
Daily tasks include:
- Ensuring medication records are accurate
- Supporting individuals with their medicines
- Liaising with community pharmacies when medications are out of stock
- Reviewing equivalent medication options, especially in cases where an individual may find swallowing tablets problematic
- Recommending cost-effective medicines and other solutions to prevent waste
Entry requirements:
- Pharmacy undergraduate degree
- Registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
- Postgraduate experience in pharmacy is usually also required
Physician Associate
Physician Associates work under the supervision of General Practitioners (GPs) and alongside the wider practice team to provide patient care.
Every day is different, and Physician Associates tend to enjoy the variety of their role and supporting patients from the very start their care journey. You will need to have exemplary communication and problem-solving skills to do your job well.
Everyday duties include:
- Performing patient examinations and diagnosing conditions
- Reviewing medical histories and test results
- Developing patient management plans
- Making home visits, including residential and care homes
- Giving health information and advice to patients
- Making patient referrals
Entry requirements:
- Bioscience-related undergraduate degree (although a Physician Associate specific undergraduate course is currently being developed)
- 2 year postgraduate course
Podiatrist
Podiatrists diagnose and treat foot, ankle and lower limb problems, to keep people of all ages mobile and active. This includes people who have complications resulting from longer-term conditions, such as diabetes or arthritis.
By effectively treating patients’ pain and infections, you will improve their mobility, independence and quality of life. You will also help to reduce the likelihood of any further resulting conditions.
You will be an important member of our primary care team as podiatry is a key service for our patients, particularly those who have high-risk conditions.
You will possess excellent verbal and written communication skills, as well as manual dexterity to carry out effective treatments. You have a natural ability to calm patients who may feel anxious, and your organisational skills help you to effectively manage a busy and varied workload.
Duties include:
- Assessing, diagnosing and treating lower limb and foot issues
- Establishing patient management plans
- Educating patients and staff members on foot health
- Prescribing and fitting orthotics, plus other aids and appliances
Entry requirements:
- BSc Hons podiatry
- HEE Primary care FCP training
Social Prescriber Link Worker
Through a personalised care approach, Social Prescribing Link Workers support people to manage their own health and wellbeing. You help patients identify what matters to them and connect them with community groups and local partners for non-medical practical and emotional support.
You specifically help patients who have long-term conditions, complex needs or mental health conditions, and those who are isolated or experience social problems. Therefore, excellent communication skills, both verbally and written, are essential. You are also able to demonstrate your own emotional resilience and ability to work well during stressful situations.
Your role plays an important function within the multidisciplinary team to reduce health and wellbeing inequalities within our local community. You are helping to strengthen personal resilience while relieving some of the resource pressure on practice staff.
Responsibilities include:
- Meeting people on a one-to-one basis to discuss their health and wellbeing challenges
- Working with and coaching people to create a personalised care and support plan
- Introducing and connecting people to community groups and other services for further support
- Liaising and building relationships with local community groups, partners and agencies
- Tracking individuals’ progress and improvement
- Educating staff on the benefits of social prescribing
Management Roles
Practice Manager
Practice Managers play a pivotal role in general practice, managing the business side of things at a practice and ensuring patients receive exemplary care.
As well as taking care of business planning and people management, you will ensure appointment systems are working well for practice staff and patients, and support colleagues with service delivery.
You have a strong business aptitude and skills in finance, IT and people. You’ll be confident in working with a range of stakeholders and you are committed to the delivery of high-quality services in healthcare.
Day to day tasks include:
- Training and managing non-clinical staff
- Managing financial information and systems, including budgeting and payroll
- Working with local health organisations, such as clinical commissioning groups
- Business planning and strategy
- Developing new services and making adjustments to existing services
Entry requirements:
Practice Managers are typically required to hold one of the following qualifications.
- Certificate/Diploma in Primary Care and Health Management, awarded by the Association of Medical Secretaries, Practice Managers, Administrators and Receptionists
- Vocational Training Scheme for general practice Managers, awarded by the Institute of Healthcare Management