Senior healthcare support worker - Level 3
Dietetics
Senior support workers will use more advanced skills under the supervision of registered staff and may also work alone, with access to a registered member of staff on site or via the telephone. Responsibilities include the direct delivery of clinical, technical, or scientific activities following training. They may demonstrate own duties to other support workers, students, or less experienced staff. They will also carry out administration tasks related to patient care and the wider service. At this stage, senior support workers will contribute to service improvement and be able to make fact-based judgements.
Skills and knowledge
To become a Senior Healthcare Support Worker you will need:
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- sensitivity and understanding
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- the ability to work well with others
- the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
- the ability to work well with your hands
- excellent verbal communication skills
- customer service skills
- to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
- organisational skills
- good teamwork
Qualifications
There are no set entry requirements to become a healthcare support worker, but good literacy and numeracy skills are expected, and in some cases GCSEs (or equivalent) in English and maths are required too. You may also need a healthcare qualification such as a BTEC or NVQ for some of our roles.
Routes into this job
You could do a college course, which may help you when looking for work. Courses include:
- Level 2 Diploma In Preparing for Further Study in Health, Social Care and Social Work
- Level 2 Diploma in Health and Social Care
- Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Health and Social Care
- T Level in Health
Most health and social care courses include work placements which is a good way to get experience.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
You'll usually need:
- 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a T level
You can get into this job through a Level 3 apprenticeship as a senior healthcare support worker.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
You'll usually need:
- some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
You could work as a trainee care assistant in a residential home or care home while you complete a qualification.
You'll find it useful to get some paid or volunteering experience in care. This will help when you apply for jobs.
You could contact the voluntary services co-ordinator at your local NHS trust for advice about opportunities.
You can also find volunteering opportunities through The National Council for Voluntary Organisations and Do IT.
Explore courses & training
Career progression
The opportunities to progress are endless; you can choose to specialise in a particular setting, or train to qualify as a healthcare professional, such as a nurse or midwife. In some trusts, healthcare support workers have slightly different job titles such as healthcare assistant (or HCA), nursing assistant or midwifery assistant, depending on your chosen setting and the healthcare professionals you support.
As a healthcare support worker, you’ll have access to world-class training and learn basic nursing skills. You’ll also work towards gaining qualifications such as the Care Certificate and may have the opportunity to do an apprenticeship. But that’s not all. You’ll gain plenty of on-the-job experience and be surrounded by experts who’ll support you as you progress through your career. And with regular check-ins to discuss your career aspirations, you’ll always be moving forward.
Assistant Practitioner (Health) - Level 5
Assistant practitioners work at a level above that of healthcare support workers and have more in-depth education and understanding about factors that influence health and ill-health, for example anatomy and physiology. Support workers at this level will possess enhanced skills in their area of work, which may be a specialist clinical area. They will provide routine and non-routine care and support, including to service users with more complex needs and making assessment of progress. They can demonstrate own activities to new or less experienced employees and provide training to others.
Dietitian BSc - Level 6
Dietitians are predominantly employed by the NHS, working in hospitals (seeing patients both on wards and in out-patient clinics) and in the community (for example seeing patients in GP practices, care homes, schools, health centres or seeing people in their own home). Dietitians are also employed in the food industry (including clinical nutrition companies) and there maybe opportunity for employment in higher education, sport, media, and national and local government. Some dietitians will be freelance and self-employed. The broad purpose of the occupation is to use advanced communication and behaviour-change skills to enable people to make lifestyle and food choices to improve their health. Dietitians work in partnership with individual to assess, diagnose and monitor the impact of jointly agreed treatment plans.
Enhanced Clinical Practitioner - Level 6
Enhanced Clinical Practitioners are qualified health and social care professionals who are working at an enhanced level of practice with specific knowledge and skills in a field of expertise. They manage a discrete aspect of a patient’s care within their current level of practice, which will be particular to a specific context, be it a client group, a skill set or an organisational context. This is in contrast to Advanced Clinical Practitioners who have developed their knowledge and skills to an advanced level of practice and would manage the whole episode of a patient’s clinical care, from the time they first present, through to the end of the episode.
Advanced Clinical Practitioner - Level 7
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. They carry out their full range of duties in relation to individuals’ physical and mental healthcare and in acute, primary, urgent and emergency settings (including hospitals, general practice, individuals’ homes, schools and prisons, and in the public, independent, private and charity sectors). They combine expert clinical skills with research, education and clinical leadership within their scope of practice. Advanced Clinical Practitioners work innovatively on a one to one basis with individuals as well as part of a wider team. They work as part of the wider health and social care team and across traditional professional boundaries in health and social care.