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Health visitor

Alternative titles for this job include

Health visitors work with families in their own homes to promote healthy lifestyles and prevent illness.

Average salary (a year)

£32,305 Starter

to

£45,838 Experienced

Typical hours (a week)

38 to 40 a week

You could work

evenings on a rota

How to become

Explore the different ways to get into this role.

How to become a health visitor

You can get into this job through:

  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role

Apprenticeship

If you are a qualified registered nurse or midwife you may be able to do a specialist community public health nurse (Master's) degree apprenticeship.

This typically takes 18 months to complete as a mix of 50 percent workplace learning and 50 percent academic study at an accredited university.

Entry requirements

To do this apprenticeship, you'll need:

  • to be a registered nurse

More Information

Work

You need to be a registered midwife, adult, child, mental health or learning disability nurse to apply for health visitor training.

You then complete a course in Specialist Community Public Health Nursing - Health Visiting, approved by the Nursing & Midwifery Council.

Courses are at degree level, can be full-time or part-time and last between 1 and 2 years.

More Information

Registration

Career tips

When applying for jobs you'll be expected to have an understanding of how NHS values apply in your work.

Further information

You'll find more details about how to become a health visitor from Health Careers.

What it takes

Find out what skills you’ll use in this role.

What it takes

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

  • sensitivity and understanding
  • active listening skills
  • the ability to work well with others
  • the ability to understand people’s reactions
  • knowledge of psychology
  • the ability to use your initiative
  • to be flexible and open to change
  • administration skills
  • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

Restrictions and Requirements

You'll need to:

What you’ll do

Discover the day to day tasks you’ll do in this role.

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

As part of your day-to-day duties, you could:

  • give advice to new parents on baby feeding, hygiene, safety and sleep
  • support parents with their children’s development needs
  • coordinate child immunisation programmes
  • organise special clinics or drop-in centres
  • support children with special needs
  • advise on how to reduce the risk of accident and injury
  • work closely with social services and other organisations to safeguard and protect children

Working environment

You could work at a client's home, at a health centre or at a GP practice.

Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding and you'll travel often.

Career path and progression

Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities.

Career path and progression

You could specialise in a area like working with teenage parents or people in need of mental health support.

With experience, you could progress to team manager, community matron or a healthcare management role.

You could also go into nurse education, training or academic research.

Current opportunities

Find apprenticeships, courses and jobs available near you.

Current opportunities

Apprenticeships In England

We can't find any apprenticeship vacancies in England for a health visitor right now.

The Find an apprenticeship service can help you with your search, send alerts when new apprenticeships become available and has advice on how to apply.

Courses In England

Access to HE - Nursing

  • Provider: HCUC (Harrow College & Uxbridge College)
  • Start date: 04 September 2023
  • Location: Harrow

Access to Higher Education Nursing

  • Provider: EALING, HAMMERSMITH & WEST LONDON COLLEGE
  • Start date: 19 September 2023
  • Location: London
Find courses near you

Jobs In the United Kingdom

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