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How to become a nursing assistant practitioner
To become a nursing assistant practitioner, you’ll need a healthcare-related or equivalent qualification at SCQF level 8. You can also apply for opportunities if you have relevant previous experience. This can be demonstrated through recognition of prior learning from a college or university.
What is a nursing assistant practitioner?
Nursing assistant practitioners carry out routine care and treatment with patients in hospital and community settings.
Supervised by registered nurses, they provide person-centred, safe, and effective care that is responsive to an individual’s needs, preferences, and values. This includes clinical observations, reporting on a patient’s condition, and escalating concerns when needed.
Starting your career as a nursing assistant practitioner
Some nursing assistant practitioners start their careers as healthcare support workers. Find out more about the role of a nursing support worker.
You can also apply for vacancies if you have the following:
- Healthcare-related qualifications at SCQF level 8 or equivalent.
- Relevant experience and can demonstrate this through recognition of prior learning.
Work placements and volunteering
You may find it helpful to get some healthcare experience by doing a work placement or volunteering. You’ll get training, increase your knowledge, and learn new skills. This could help you when applying for a new job with NHSScotland.
Education and training pathway
To become a nursing assistant practitioner, you’ll need a healthcare-related qualification and SCQF level 8 or equivalent. More information about SCQF levels is available on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework website.
You can also demonstrate your experience through recognition of prior learning.
Previous experience could include the following:
- knowledge and understanding of procedures and delivering appropriate treatment plans
- working in an integrated multidisciplinary team
- managing a delegated caseload
- supervision of healthcare support workers and students
- reflective practice
Get to know the role
As a nursing assistant practitioner, you’ll have direct contact with patients, their families, and carers. You’ll work in a multidisciplinary team with nurses, healthcare support workers, allied health professionals, and doctors to deliver high-quality person-centred care.
In this role, you’ll carry out delegated clinical tasks and evaluate how the patient responds to treatment or rehabilitation. You’ll then report the patient’s progress to a registered nurse practitioner so that interventions can be adapted where needed.
You’ll also supervise healthcare support workers in your team and assist with nursing students' education, training, and supervision.
Tasks include:
- Carry out routine elements of an individual’s assessment, treatment, or intervention, following protocols, guidelines, and evidence-based practice.
- Take responsibility for a patient’s planned care and treatment following an initial assessment by a registered nurse.
- Communicate routine, complex, and sensitive information to individuals, families, carers, and healthcare professionals, such as test results, clinical observations, and treatment plans.
- Carry out specific delegated tasks, including catheterisation, wound care, phlebotomy, sample testing, early warning scoring, and discharge planning.
- Recognise and respond to changes or concerns in a person's condition, care, or treatment. Use your knowledge and skills to understand the situation and quickly report or escalate any changes to a registered nurse practitioner where needed.
- Help to maintain a clean and safe environment for patients, visitors, and employees.
- Provide instruction, advice, and training to patients, families, carers, and other staff groups.
- Use your leadership and collaboration skills to support, motivate, negotiate with, and influence other multidisciplinary team members.
- Give medication to patients.
You'll need these skills:
- caring
- empathy
- focusing
- communicating
- leading
- sesnse-making
- relationship-building
- collaborating
You could work with:
- nurses
- carers
- arts therapists
- occupational therapists
- speech and language therapists
- physiotherapists
- psychiatrists
- psychologists
- hospital doctors
- GPs
- porters
- ward clerks
- social workers
- healthcare support workers
You could work in:
- hospital wards
- inpatient and outpatient clinics
- GP practices
- health centres
- mental health units
- people’s homes
- prisons
Learning and development
As a nursing assistant practitioner, you must develop your knowledge of health conditions and approaches to health improvement and wellbeing. You'll be responsible and accountable for keeping your knowledge and skills up to date through reflective practice and continuing professional development.
You’ll participate in personal career development planning to develop your personal growth through training and education. This includes completing mandatory training, such as:
- health and safety
- infection control
- moving and handling
You must also complete role-specific training, which may include higher clinical skills and medicines administration.
Learn more about career development support on Support Worker Central.
Career progression
While working in the NHS, you’ll have access to learning and development opportunities to help you progress in your career. This could mean taking on more responsibilities or moving to an associate practice educator role.
Pre-registration undergraduate nursing degree programmes
If you’re a nursing assistant practitioner, you could complete an undergraduate degree to become a qualified nurse. You’d then be eligible to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council and apply for newly qualified nurse vacancies in NHSScotland.
Nursing degree programmes usually take 3 years of full-time study. However, you could apply for accreditation of your qualifications and experience. This may provide an entry option to year 2 of a pre-registration undergraduate nursing degree programme in Scotland.
Search for undergraduate nursing degree programmes on My World of Work.
Professional bodies
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the world's largest nursing trade union and professional body. Find out more about the RCN.
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