Working as a Nurse Adviser

Tell me more about Innovex NHS Solutions (INS)

Innovex NHS Solutions (INS) is an organisation which shares one of the major goals of the NHS; to assure and improve the quality of patient care, by supporting the NHS in the delivery of best clinical practice through the effective implementation of innovative healthcare programmes.

Most of our support activities are focused in Primary Care, in line with the increasing move towards a primary care led NHS. They usually comprise appropriately trained and qualified NMC registered nurses working as temporarily seconded employees of a General Practice.

The role of Nurse Advisers varies within health management programmes, but can include: -

• The raising of awareness of a specific disease amongst practice staff through appropriate education and support
  
• Support for the implementation of local or national best clinical practice guidelines through a process of clinical audit, patient review, reports and feedback to practice staff and practical change management plans
  
• Support and education for patients and carers, including patient counselling and patient compliance with treatment
  
• Linking hospital care to the care of patients within the community
  
• Direct involvement in the support and care of individual patients within the community

Although INS receives its funding from industry sponsorship, ie its customers are the major pharmaceutical companies, it aims to complement the activities of the NHS via the effective implementation of transparent, evidence-based health management programmes delivered by Nurse Advisers.

Nurse Advisers are all NMC registered nurses, working for Innovex and managed by Innovex managers under the terms of the NMC Code of Professional Conduct.

INS is a division of Innovex (UK) Ltd and as such benefits from the extensive experience it has gained within educational, clinical and sales projects run by the company over the past decade.

Innovex offers Nurse Adviser programmes to a customer base of the top 30 ethical pharmaceutical companies and the NHS (PCOs and PCTs), through a variety of projects within primary and secondary care.

"I sometimes miss the 'hands-on' caring nursing - you are still very much in a caring role as a Nurse Adviser, but it is different and you have to take a long-term view"

Why don't the pharmaceutical companies undertake these programmes for themselves?

Well, they do - to some degree. It is a complex and specialist area that benefits from additional support, resource and expertise and for these reasons our customers will choose Innovex to work with - this is a management concept known as outsourcing.

As the UK's leading provider of outsourced Nurse Advisers, Innovex has developed, implemented and managed a large number of varied programmes. A Nurse Adviser helps to change clinical behaviour by uncovering new prescribing opportunities in a way that is beneficial for patients, the NHS and our pharmaceutical company customers.

What benefits do Nurse Adviser teams bring to a pharmaceutical company?

They bridge the gap between the commercial world of pharmaceutical marketing and the ethical and professional world of patient care. In this way, Nurse Advisers can influence repeat prescribing habits to benefit patients, the NHS and the sponsoring pharmaceutical company.

What do the customers expect from a Nurse Adviser?

Our customers or sponsors, as they are sometimes known, are usually one of the top 30 pharmaceutical companies - and in order to build credibility and rapport with patients and clinicians, they require a qualified professional who has a strong knowledge of the relevant disease area.

In the process of raising awareness of specific treatments in distinct disease areas, our customers expect us to supply Nurse Advisers who understand the commercial environment as well as having the experience to work with the NHS and the ability to have direct contact with patients.

"When you are a nurse you 'clock-off' and then don't have to think about work again 'til your next shift. That's not how it is as a Nurse Adviser. I'm loving it…but it's just very different"

 

What does a Nurse Adviser do on a day-to-day basis?

A Nurse Adviser is a fully qualified nurse who works within primary care or secondary care with key healthcare professionals to undertake a number of initiatives such as:

Educating and informing GPs and other healthcare professionals in a specific therapy area

Educating and informing patients and carers including treatment, counselling and compliance

• Auditing and analysing clinical records to identify patients requiring intervention
  
• Reviewing patients through clinical based initiatives
  
• Making general treatment recommendations aligned to agreed protocols
  
• Changing clinical behaviour through relationships with GPs and other key staff
  
• Introducing and promoting specific healthcare initiatives to GPs and other healthcare professionals

You'll be working in a team made up of other Nurse Advisers - and running projects or programmes as outlined above. These programmes can cover a wide geographical area where you will work across a number of different practices or hospitals.

The sites you work in will change over time as you complete one project centre and move to another.

Some of the variety will come from the different people and centres that you are visiting - this poses different opportunities and challenges to those of mainstream nursing.

The role of the Nurse Adviser is largely autonomous. You have to manage your own workload and you are given a lot of responsibility. You will need to liaise with the sponsor company medical representative to help identify and prioritise centres, as well as planning and organising your own diary to report back on daily work.

Driving can be a major part of the job and it is not uncommon to spend up to two hours travelling to a centre. It is a job for those who work hard and are genuinely self-motivated. However, you are still part of a team, you will talk to your colleagues regularly on the phone and usually meet every couple of months.

"I enjoy working as a Nurse Adviser with Innovex because I have the freedom to utilise my training in a variety of clinical arenas needing nursing, facilitation, interpersonal and other people skills - sometimes all at once, on one job, with one group of healthcare professionals. It's fun and it's very rewarding"

How does being a Nurse Adviser differ from being a nurse?

The job is fundamentally very different. The challenges and responsibilities of the role are different. As one of our current Nurse Advisers said "I miss jumping on their chest and bringing them back to life!"

Whilst your nursing qualification is a prerequisite for the job, the job itself may not involve 'hands-on' nursing care. Some projects are audit based and have minimal to no patient involvement whilst others require home visits and one to one patient review - it is all dependent on the required outcomes of the project.

The role is field-based, which means within a geographical area you may well work at different centres during the course of the day and the week. As you will be working at a variety of different centres which may not be close to your home, the role may involve significant travel. This dependency on travel times means there are no fixed start and finish times to your day. There is also work to complete at home and your colleagues and manager are only a phone call away but not on the next ward!

What will the first 3 months look like?

In all honesty the first 3 months can be tough. You will need to get used to working on your own and managing your own centres and workload. In return you will be given comprehensive training on the therapy area, the skills, processes and procedures that exist in Innovex. You will be introduced to your manager and your team and will have the chance to 'shadow' your colleagues before taking on your own area.

The normal working hours are 8.30am until 5pm. However, it is a field-based role and, in reality, this often means more hours - particularly while you are learning the job (typically, the first 3 months). It's like any other professional job - there is a lot of learning in the first 3 months, including geography, disease area, IT/ Communications systems and, of course, how to be a really successful Nurse Adviser.

My career and my development are important to me - how does Innovex ensure that I develop in a way that is best for me?

Innovex takes your development very seriously. As a service organisation, Innovex's product is its people and so its people are of ultimate importance. There is a training team dedicated to the professional and personal development of staff in Innovex.

Within the training group there are trainers who deal specifically with Nurse Advisers to ensure that we meet the needs of the individual, the RCN and the NMC. We are also working to have our training courses and development programme accredited by the RCN and ABPI (Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry).

In addition, there is a robust career pathway which supports opportunities within Innovex. As a company, we strive to promote internally and succession plans are in place to support this commitment. This approach ensures the right development plan is in place for individuals to track their progress along a structured career pathway. As you develop this may also include opportunities within other areas of Innovex business.

What happens when the contract (between Innovex and its customer) finishes?

As Innovex is an outsourcing company all our projects have a defined timeframe. This may vary depending on the aims and objectives of each project. Some may run for one or two years, although we have projects which have run for more than five years.

At the end of the project we will explore all available opportunites for you in order to assign you to another project. We have a team dedicated to this area who will take into consideration your strengths, specialisms, interests and location. Often this will give you exposure to different customers, therapy areas and customer solutions which will contribute to your development.

In Summary

Innovex is a market leader in the provision of Nurse Adviser programmes to the pharmaceutical industry, offering outstanding opportunities for an exciting and progressive career

The job of the Nurse Adviser involves educating patients, GPs and other healthcare professionals, auditing records, making treatment recommendations, and monitoring /changing treatment behaviours - most Innovex projects are within primary care

It's a hugely different job to being a Nurse - you need the same commitment and interest in healthcare, but you also need to be able to build high-level working relationships (GPs and customers), be very self motivated (much of the time is spent on your own), and have an interest and willingness to understand and work within the commercial world (the pharmaceutical companies are your customers)

Training and Development are key components of a role at Innovex - there is a training team dedicated to the Nurse Adviser teams and there is a structured career pathway that provides for you to grow and develop both within INS and within other parts of the organisation

Innovex builds long term relationships with its customers and many have worked with Innovex for over five years