The Nursing team works together to provide care for adults and children with physical or mental ill health or disability. Nursing roles can vary from helping someone with basic daily tasks to administering life-saving drugs. Registered nurses work in different areas and are in charge of assessing, diagnosing, planning and evaluating treatment.
They are supported by the wider nursing team. Nursing staff can choose to work in a range of settings from patients’ homes, GP practices, schools, nursing homes and other areas such as prisons or hospices.
Nursing roles
Read about each role in more detail.
Phlebotomist
Phlebotomist, take blood samples from patients. The samples are examined in a laboratory and the results can be used to diagnose diseases and conditions.
Phlebotomists may work in hospitals, clinics or health centres. You may visit patients at home or in residential or care homes.
Training
Phlebotomists are trained on the job, which includes theory and practical work:
- how to take blood from different patient groups, including children and the elderly
- different ways to take blood
- health and safety
- anatomy and physiology.
Your pathway options
Healthcare Assistant
Health Care Assistants work as part of a team providing high quality and compassionate care to individuals. You will carry out well-defined routine clinical duties like monitoring an individual’s conditions (by checking things like blood pressure, temperature or weight), checking on their overall progress, comfort and wellbeing within Community Hospitals, sexual health centres,
Training
- Healthcare Assistant Level 2 Apprenticeship Standard
- Health and Social Care Level 2 Care Certificate.
Your pathway options
Immunisations Assistant
Immunisations Assistants work with the Immunisation Nurses to deliver routine national immunisation programmes to school aged children.
Training
- Senior Healthcare Support Worker level 3 apprenticeship standard
- Health and Social Care level 3 care certificate
Your pathway options
Senior Healthcare Assistant
Senior Healthcare Assistants help registered practitioners deliver healthcare services to people. As an experienced support worker, you carry out a range of clinical and non-clinical healthcare or therapeutic tasks, under the direct or indirect supervision of the registered healthcare practitioner.
Training
- Senior Healthcare Support Worker level 3 apprenticeship standard
- Health and Social Care level 3 care certificate
Your pathway options
Newborn Hearing Screener
Newborn hearing screeners work as members of a team in neonatal units, postnatal wards and in hospitals and clinics. They are involved in identifying which babies need testing and explain the screening procedure.
As a newborn hearing screener, you'll work as part of the audiology team with healthcare scientists, neonatal nurses, GPs and health visitors. You may work in neonatal units, postnatal wards or clinics. You will have a lot of contact with parents and their babies.
Training
You will be given the training you need for the job including how to use the equipment, health and safety and child protection. Newborn hearing screeners can join the British Society of Audiology (BSA) as associate members. The BSA offers conferences and meetings where hearing screeners can update their skills and network with.
Your pathway options
School Public Health Assistants
School Public Health Assistants work to improve the general health and wellbeing of Children, young people and their families. You will work closely with School Nurses and assistant practitioners to provide support for a variety of health issues.
Training
- Senior Healthcare Support Worker level 3 apprenticeship standard
- Health and Social Care level 3 care certificate
Your pathway options
Nurse Associate
The Nursing Associate is a highly trained support role to deliver effective, safe and responsive nursing care in and across a wide range of health and care settings. Community Nursery Nurse Nursing Associates work independently, and with others, under the leadership and direction of a Registered Nurse within defined parameters, to deliver care in line with an agreed plan. They are entered on the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register.
Training
- Nurse Associate level 5 apprenticeship standard
Your pathway options
Assistant Practitioner
Assistant Practitioners work as part of the wider health and social care team and have direct contact with patients, service users or clients providing high quality and compassionate care.
Assistant Practitioners work at a level above that of Healthcare Support Workers and have a more in-depth understanding about factors that influence health and ill-health. Assistant Practitioners work in Cardiac, Pulmonary, Rehab, Discharge, Community Nursery Nurse and Health Visiting teams.
Training
- Assistant Practitioner level 5 apprenticeship standard
Your pathway options
Registered Nurse
The Registered Nurse works in a range of different roles within Wards, Community, Research, District Nursing, School Nursing, Adult, Paediatric, Learning Disabilities and immunisation.
Registered nurses are a key part of the multidisciplinary teams that meet the health and care needs of patients and service users.
Training
- Registered Nurse Degree apprenticeship level 6
- Specialist Practitioner District Nurse apprenticeship
Your pathway options
Specialist Nurse
A Specialist Nurse has additional specialist clinical skills and knowledge and can provide expert advice related to specific conditions or treatment pathways. A Specialist Nurse is a Registered Nurse who then continues further training in a specific area such as: Clinical, Research, Practice Educator, Lymphoedema, Sexual Health, Epilepsy, Bladder and Bowel SCPHN, HIV, Tissue Viability, infection prevention and Safeguarding
Training
- Specialist training as required for the role
Your pathway options
District Nurse
District Nurses have advanced clinical assessment skills and hold a non-medical prescribers qualification. They visit patients in their home and in residential care homes. They provide increasingly complex care for patients and support family members. Your patients could be any age, but they'll often be over the age of 18, while others may have been recently discharged from hospital, be terminally ill or have physical disabilities.
Training
- District Nurse Apprenticeship. You need to be a registered adult, child, mental health or learning disability nurse to apply for a district nursing training programmes.
Your pathway options
Complex Care Nurse
A Complex Care Nurse provides tailored, specific care to patients with significant, complex healthcare issues such as chronic illness and disabilities.
Training
- Enhanced Clinical Assessment Skills level 6 or 7
- Advanced Clinical Practitioner qualification or apprenticeship
Your pathway options
Research Nurse
A Research Nurse is a nursing professional that helps create, evaluate, and perfect new and old medications and treatments for various medical problems. These nurses might work in all areas of pharmaceutical and medical research.
Training
- NIHR Pre-Doctoral Clinical Academic Fellowship (+/-MRes) PCAF 2 year 50:50
- Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship CDRF 3 year 80:20
- Clinical and Senior Clinical Lectureships
- HEE - Integrated Clinical Academic Pathway Internship ICAP
Your pathway options
Health Visitor
Health visitors are qualified and registered nurses or midwives who have carried out additional training. As a health visitor, you’ll be working mainly with children from birth to five years and their families. You may also work with at-risk or deprived groups.
Training
- Specialist Community and Public Health Nurse Apprenticeship – Health Visitor pathway
- It is a requirement of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) that those training to become a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse are already registered
Your pathway options
Clinical Lead / Primary Care Network (PCN) Lead (Senior Practitioner)
You will be responsible for the Clinical leadership of a team or teams within a locality. The expectation is that you provide effective leadership, manage service to help them identify and deliver effective care provision to housebound patients within the community setting. You have an overview of Rosters, HR and maintain operational responsibility for effective capacity and demand within the service.
Training
- Management training such as level 6 chartered manager degree
Your pathway options
Local Clinical Resource Manager / Operational Lead (District Manager)
This managerial level offers Strategic support to Strategic Managers. Responsible for overall service provision you would deal with complex staffing issues, complaints and manage relationships with internal and external stakeholders to ensure the services maximise effective patient care within resource provision.
Within Health visiting you would support the education and training of colleagues and assist with the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme - Universal Service, Universal Plus, and Universal Partnership Plus to the 0 to 5 year age group.
Training
- Requirements for this post include a post registration qualification registered with the NMC, have a degree or are able to provide evidence of professional development at level 6.
Your pathway options
Family Partnership Lead
Have a key role in embedding the Family Partnership Model within Kent Health Visiting Service by working with senior managers, colleagues to empower parents and carers to build on their strengths and enable them to overcome difficulties.
They work with senior managers to support the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme and have a crucial role in leadership, mentoring, supervising junior members of staff to ensure that the model is embedded in practice.
Training
- Qualifications required for this role include Nursing or Midwifery qualification, evidence of a level 6 degree, and mentoring qualification. Applicants also need evidence of NMC registration.
- A minimum of five years’ experience of working and managing very complex situations and can demonstrate that they have worked in child health, Public Health or Midwifery.
Your pathway options
Education Lead
Have a key role in embedding the Family Partnership Model within Kent Health Visiting Service by working with senior managers, colleagues to empower parents and carers to build on their strengths and enable them to overcome difficulties.
They work with senior managers to support the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme and have a crucial role in leadership, mentoring, supervising junior members of staff to ensure that the model is embedded in practice.
Training
- Qualifications required for this role include Nursing or Midwifery qualification, evidence of a level 6 degree, and mentoring qualification. Applicants also need evidence of NMC registration.
- A minimum of five years’ experience of working and managing very complex situations and can demonstrate that they have worked in child health, Public Health or Midwifery.
Your pathway options
Advanced Clinical Practitioner
Advanced Clinical Practitioners are experienced clinicians who demonstrate expertise in their scope of practice.
Advanced Clinical Practitioners manage defined episodes of clinical care independently, from beginning to end, providing care and treatment from the time an individual first presents through to the end of the episode, which may include admission, referral or discharge or care at home.
Training
- Advanced Clinical Practitioner apprenticeship
Your pathway options
Matron
Matrons are responsible for overseeing the nurses in their hospital wards and ensuring patients receive optimal care at all times. They are also responsible for maintaining their working environment, preventing infections, improving cleanliness, facilitating treatments and acting as leaders for junior nurses.
Training
- Management training such as level 6 chartered manager degree
Your pathway options
Professional Lead Nurse SPDN
As a Professional Lead you will be a role model for your profession. You will act to promote the profession and work with colleagues to develop, expand or maintain clinical skills and knowledge. It is vital to maintain up to date, evidence based practice and support student nurses or therapists as they undertake specialist qualifications. You will work to identify, support & undertake Quality Improvement projects, provide evidence of improved outcomes and support strategic delivery of the trust vision.
Training
- Evidence of specialist qualifications and teaching or coaching awards.
Your pathway options
Chief Nurse
As a chief nurse, you are responsible for maintaining clinical and patient-care standards. To do this, chief nurses work closely with senior health management professionals, offering advice on the best ways to improve facility care. You are also responsible for coordinating the implementation of new nursing strategies.
Training
Evidence of specialist and continuous professional development required.