Introduction
The nursing associate is a new role within the nursing team and has just started to be introduced into neonatal services. On neonatal units nursing associates work with nursery nurses and registered nurses to deliver care for babies and their families. The role provides an opportunity to start a career pathway to become a neonatal nurse.
When employed, a nursing associate’s standard working week will be around 37.5 hours and may include a mix of shifts such as night, early starts, evening and weekends.
Your duties as a neonatal nursing associate are likely to include:
- undertaking clinical tasks including passing of feeding tubes and administering some oral medication
- Assessing, monitoring, and undertaking care tasks in relation to infant hygiene, nutritional care, thermoregulatory care
- Carrying out daily checks and cleaning of specialised equipment used for infant feeding
- Carrying out daily checks of any emergency equipment and resuscitaires
- Supporting and assisting mothers in breast-feeding/expressing and the safe storage of milk
- Undertaking Baby Friendly Initiative [The Unicef UK Baby Friendly Initiative] training and assessment
- Caring for infants receiving low flow oxygen
- Supporting parents, families and carers when faced with difficult news and life-changing diagnoses
- Discussing and sharing information with registered nurses on an infant’s condition, behaviour, activity and responses
- Ensuring the privacy, dignity and safety of infants and parents are always maintained
- Recognising issues relating to safeguarding vulnerable children and adults
To find out more about the nursing associate role visit the NHS Health Careers website.
How to become a neonatal nursing associate
To begin your training as a nursing associate, you’ll need GCSEs grade 9 to 4 (A to C) in maths and English, or Functional Skills Level 2 in maths and English. Some employers will also ask for a level 3 qualification. You’ll also need to show that you can study for a foundation degree level and complete the nursing associate apprenticeship programme.
Trainee nursing associate places are usually advertised on the NHS Jobs website, but some places are available through direct application to universities. Applicants accepted onto university courses will need to fund their own training.
Progression opportunities
The role of the neonatal nursing associate sits alongside existing nursing care support workers and fully qualified registered nurses. It offers an alternative route into nursing and opens a career in nursing to those not wanting, or able, to go to university and complete a degree.
Once qualified, a nursing associate is not a registered nurse, but with further training, it can be possible to ‘top up’ your training to become one.
If you choose to, once you are on the nursing associate pathway you can progress onto the Neonatal Preceptorship/Foundation Programme. You may then wish to apply to continue to become a fully registered nurse which is a further 18 months of study.
Contact:
For further information please get in touch stating which unit you would be interested in finding out more about:
For units in the Thames Valley and Wessex region: england.tv-w-neonatalnetwork@nhs.net
For units in the Kent, Surrey and Sussex region: medwayft.kssneonatalodn@nhs.net
