How to become a Health Visitor

139

236

£25,000/y

avg. starting salary

You hate Monday because you hate your job. You should be a Health Visitor… Health Visitors provide care and support for a wide range of individuals within their communities, promoting good health and educating people on how to best care for themselves and their kids. Often working with new and perspective parents, they primarily visit people within their own homes to help meet their needs. Typical duties for a Health Visitor include:

Offering advice for new parents, helping them adjust and providing guidance for activities including feeding, changing and weaning
Providing emotional support for issues ranging from post-natal depression through to anxiety, dealing with disabilities and domestic violence
Investigating incidents in the workplace and writing-up accident reports
Overseeing drop-in centres or family-planning clinics
Administering physical and developmental checks, particularly in children, and referring people in need of further treatment to the relevant specialists.
Diagnosing lower-level illnesses and prescribing basic treatment

First and foremost, to become a Health Visitor you must be a registered nurse or midwife. However, you’ll be working with a wide range of different people, with extremely varied backgrounds. You could be doing anything from existing children with eating and speech problems, through to helping educate the elderly on illness prevention and improving their lifestyle. As a result, aside from any formal qualifications, excellent interpersonal skills and an empathetic attitude will be similarly essential. Other key skills include:

- A warm and engaging personality
- Excellent observation skills and a good understanding of body language and client behaviour
- The ability to stay calm in a crisis
- An in-depth understanding of health and social care issues
- Patience and tact
- Emotional resilience

Nurse

Up to £25,000

Health Visitor

Up to £25,000

Health Visitor Team Manager

Up to £45,000

"I've always wanted to help people, which is why I initially got into nursing. However, after a few years working in a hospital environment, I was itching to get out and help as many people as possible. It’s sounds cliché, but every day is different, and brings new challenges. You could be helping people plan to start a family one minute, and helping someone cope with bereavement the next. However, not everyone that needs help asks for it, and that’s what makes this job so rewarding."

Get qualified

You will need to be a qualified nurse or midwife in order to become a Health Visitor. You will also need to apply for the Specialist Community Public Health Nursing Health Visiting programme, which will help you get started.

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