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Health visitors are qualified and registered nurses or midwives who have chosen to gain additional training and qualifications. Their additional training enables them to assess the health needs of individuals, families and the wider community to promote good health and prevent illness. You may also work with at-risk or deprived groups such as the homeless, addicts or travellers.
Your role will vary depending where you are based or if you specialise in an area such as mental health or teenage parents. Your day-to-day work will typically include:
You will also work with other organisations to safeguard and protect children. You will be trained in recognising the risk factors, triggers of concern, and signs of abuse and neglect in children. You will often be the first to recognise whether a child is at risk of harm, and know whether action needs to be taken and what should be done to protect them. You will also ensure families receive the best possible support during formal safeguarding arrangements.
You need to be have excellent communication skills, be well-organised, confident and able to cope with potentially challenging situations, such as working with a homeless family or in a refuge. You will need to be able to work independently, although you will work as part of a team. Being highly organised, flexible, observant and able to prioritise effectively is also important.
You need to a registered midwife, adult, child, mental health or learning disability nurse to apply for a health visiting training programme. The training programme is also known as Specialist Community Public Health Nursing – Health Visiting (SCPHN – HV) and is at degree level. It’s normally no less than one academic year (45 weeks) full time or part-time equivalent.
You could take the first step of your career without going to university straightaway. You could enter as a healthcare assistant or assistant practitioner, if you have relevant experience and qualifications, and develop your skills through additional education and training before starting your degree.
We'd love to hear from you. If you'd like to talk to us about apprenticeships and traineeships, email hyp-tr.apprentices@nhs.net
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