Nursing Associates work with healthcare support workers and registered nurses to deliver care to patients.
Working life
Nursing associates work across all four fields of nursing: adult, children’s, mental health, and learning disability. Your skills and responsibilities will vary, depending on the care setting you work in.
Nursing associate duties include:
- undertaking clinical tasks including venepuncture and ECGs.
- supporting individuals and their families and carers when faced with unwelcome news and life-changing diagnoses.
- performing and recording clinical observations such as blood pressure, temperature, respirations and pulse.
- discussing and sharing information with registered nurses on a patient’s condition, behaviour, activity and responses.
- ensuring the privacy, dignity and safety of individuals is maintained at all times.
- recognising issues relating to safeguarding vulnerable children and adults.
Requirements
To become a nursing associate, you’ll need GCSEs grade 9 to 4 (A to C) in maths and English, or Functional Skills Level 2 in maths and English. Some employers will also ask for a level 3 qualification. You’ll also need to show that you can study for a foundation degree level and complete the Nursing Associate Apprenticeship programme.
Student nursing associate places are usually advertised on NHS Jobs but some places are available through direct application to universities. Applicants accepted onto university courses will need to fund their own training.
Throughout your training to become a nursing associate you’ll undertake a combination of academic learning and work-based learning. You’ll be employed in a healthcare setting such as an acute, community or mental health hospital, care home or hospice but will also gain experience in other settings. This will mean travelling to placements and working a mixture of shifts.
You’ll develop an understanding of all elements of nursing and caring for individuals with conditions such as dementia, mental ill health and learning disabilities/difficulties.
Once you are qualified as a nursing associate, you’ll be able to register with The Nursing and Midwifery Council.
Working as a nursing associate will also allow further opportunities to develop your career through apprenticeships and internal training in the future.
Personal characteristics
To work successfully within the nursing associate team, you need to consider your own personal characteristics. You would need to have the following attributes or similar:
- Be accurate and methodical and have good attention to detail
- Be able to assess a situation quickly
- Be resilient and prepared to work in unknown or unpredictable situations
- Be able to work as part of a team but also able to use your own initiative
- Be willing to follow instructions
- Be able to work with all people from various backgrounds with different experiences
- Be able to stay calm under pressure
Skills required
To work successfully with the adult nursing team, you need to consider the skills that you have. You would need to demonstrate the following:
- Be well organised and able to plan your time
- Be able to communicate with a variety of people using different methods
- Have positive customer service skills
- Be patient, caring and kind
- Be able to reassure those who may be anxious, scared, angry or distressed
- Be able to make decisions
- Be able to verbalise complicated information and ensure this is understood
- Be physically fit as you will be on your feet a lot during a shift
- Be able to work alone where required
- Be resilient and able to manage complex problems
Training and development opportunities
When you begin to work as a nursing associate, you will receive the training you require to be able to undertake the role successfully. You will receive an induction which will introduce you to the department you will be working in, will support you in accessing the IT systems and will ensure you are aware of the policies and procedures you will be required to follow in the undertaking of your role. You will also have to complete any statutory and mandatory training that your employer requires such as fire training, data security training and customer service.
As part of your training, you will be required to be competent in moving and handling, first aid, life support and basic patient skills. Some of these training programmes will require practical assessments and written exams.
Career development opportunities
Once you have experience working as a nursing associate, there are many other roles you could progress into. Registered nursing associates can also go on to train as a registered nurse by putting their training towards a shortened nursing degree or registered nurse degree apprenticeship (RNDA).
Pay and benefits
Nursing associates usually work 37.5 hours per week and you will be required to work shifts which can include nights, evenings, weekends and bank holidays.
Nursing associates in the NHS are paid using the Agenda for Change (AfC) system and trainee nursing associates will typically start their career on AfC band 3 but once qualified and registered will usually be paid on AfC band 4.
Other benefits of working within the nursing team include access to a pension scheme, health service discounts such as a Blue Light Card and 27 days of annual leave in addition to bank holidays.