Nurse Associate

Job responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

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. You'll need to demonstrate the values and behaviours of the NHS constitution.

Your duties are likely to include:

• undertaking clinical tasks including venepuncture, ECGs and dressings
• Health promotion and screening
• Assisting with vaccinations (appropriate to role, flu, covid, B12)

• 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 patients condition, behaviour, activity, and responses
• ensuring the privacy, dignity and safety of individuals is always maintained
• recognising issues relating to safeguarding vulnerable children and adults
• Dealing with samples, processing, and collecting of urine, sputum nail clippings, stool samples etc

Health, Safety and Security:

Identify the risks involved in work activities and undertake them in a way that manages the risks.

Use and encourage others to adopt appropriate infection control procedures and maintain work areas in each clinical room so that they are clean, safe and free from hazards reporting of any potential risks identified, including:

1. hand washing

2. universal hygiene procedures

3. collection and handling of laboratory specimens

4. segregation and disposal of waste materials

5. decontamination of instruments and clinical equipment

6. reporting and treatment of sharps injuries

7. dealing with blood and body fluid spillages

8. assist patients and colleagues in adopting sound infection control measures

Understand and apply the principles of the cold chain

Ensure safe storage, rotation and disposal of vaccines and drugs within area of responsibility

Know the general principles of first aid and resuscitation to be able to undertake initial actions as appropriate

Be aware of statutory child health procedures and statutory local guidance and referral criteria.

Know the Health and Safety policies and procedures within the workplace, including fire procedures, maintaining documentation, monitoring and maintaining of equipment and furniture within your area of responsibility.

Use the computer monitor safely.

• Be able to identify the risks to health of microbiological and chemical hazards within the working environment according to the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health.

Equality and Diversity:

Ensure own actions support equality, diversity, and rights

Act in ways that recognise the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with procedures.

Respect the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients and carers

Understand basic legal and communication issues regarding child abuse, family violence, vulnerable adults, substance abuse and addictive behaviour.

Act as a chaperone if called upon to do so

Clinical skills health and well-being:

Undertake, record, and follow guidelines for the tasks for which you have received appropriate training:

Urinalysis and preparation of specimens for investigation by the pathology laboratory

Measuring and recording following physiological measurements in routine presentations:

1. Blood pressure

2. Pulse rate and rhythm

3. Temperature

4. Height and weight body mass index

5. Venepuncture

6. ECG

Prepare and maintain environments and equipment before, during and after patient care interventions.

Assist regulated professional while patients undergoing minor surgery

Where appropriate, provide support and encouragement to self-manage their conditions

Have a basic understanding of long-term conditions including diagnostic interventions, treatments and the principles of care and self-management.

Plan, develop and implement health promotion activities as appropriate e.g. smoking, exercise and diet.

Assess patients readiness to change and provide motivational support as appropriate in case of smoking, obesity, and healthy living for older people.

To administer the influenza and pneumococcal vaccine under indirect supervision of a regulated professional.

To gain the underpinning knowledge and practice skills to administer basic life support if necessary.

Hypertension Review

CVD Primary Prevention including:

Healthy Heart Checks, Annual Reviews and NAEDI screening

Smoking Cessation

24-hour BP management

Weight Management

Assist in raising awareness of health and well-being, and how it can be promoted.

Give accurate and appropriate information to patients and groups within own competence

Nurse Associate Training

You'll undertake academic learning one day a week and work-based learning the rest of the week. You'll be employed in a health care setting such as an acute, community or mental health hospital, primary/secondary care or hospice but also gain experience in other settings. This will mean travelling to placements and working a mix of shifts. Your university will set your modules alongside your placement hours necessary to the completion of your course.

It is very important to plan and manage the competing demands of your job role, study, and placements. 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.

You will be supported both at university and in practice. You will be allocated mentor who will help with your development and training within your job role.

Career development

Qualified nursing associates can also go on to training as a registered nurse by putting their training towards a shortened nursing degree or registered ...