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How to become a Health Visitor

Health Visitor

Career progression and salary expectations for a Health Visitor

1

Nurse

| Up to £25,000
2

Health Visitor

| Up to £25,000
3

Health Visitor Team Manager

| Up to £45,000

The role of a Health Visitor

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
"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 as a Health Visitor

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