NHS Royal Devon | Assistant Practitioners (Allied Health Professionals)

Assistant Practitioners (Allied Health Professionals)

Assistant Practitioners have a wealth of experience in specific areas of clinical practice, so it’s the perfect career for those who can’t wait to immerse themselves in a particular area of healthcare. You’ll have extraordinary skills thanks to your training and development.

A typical day could involve scrubbing up to help a patient in ICU, taking blood samples to send to the lab, or supporting a rehabilitation patient regain their independence by washing and dressing. Working under the direction of registered professionals, your level of experience means that you can also work alone without supervision.

You’ll be empowered to carry out agreed procedures, working in hospitals, clinics or out in the community, visiting families in their homes and referring to your multi-discipline team for guidance and support.

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What's it like to work at the Royal Devon?

The Royal Devon is a university hospital trust and in addition to the teaching opportunities that you would expect, there are educational programmes, specialist networks and a plethora of opportunities to advance your own learning.

Your empathy and dedication are just what our patients need if they require acute care, and meanwhile, your team will be around to continuously provide support and guidance. Staff nurses, support workers, nursing associates and assistant practitioners work alongside consultants, doctors, sonographers and many more professionals, so you’ll be joining a warm and welcoming team that will support and guide you throughout your career.

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Becoming an Assistant Practitioner at the Royal Devon

Starting your career

First you'll need to gain experience as a Healthcare Support Worker and work towards your Care Certificate. You don’t need experience to get started as an HCSW. We’ll provide all training on the job and help you achieve your Care Certificate within the first year of your role.

Healthcare Support Workers Come to an event

Care Certificate

Working towards your Care Certificate is one of the first steps you’ll take towards advancing your career. We’ll help every step of the way, providing dedicated time to practice your skills, and equip you with key guidance and protected time to study. This usually takes between 6-12 months, and once you have achieved this, you’ll be able to study for your diploma, which will see you take on a Band 3 Senior Support Worker role.

Care Certificate

Trainee Assistant Practitioners

Once you have achieved your Care Certificate and providing you have Maths and English GCSE’s or equivalent, we’ll help you take the next steps in your career. With experience and further training, you could follow one of our progression paths to qualify as an Assistant Practitioner or Nursing Associate.

Both career routes involve studying for a Level 5 Foundation Degree Apprenticeship, after which you’ll be able to follow a progression path that leads to a qualified Nurse or practitioner position. We'll support you with a bespoke package of skills training and dedicated study time to help you reach your goals.

Trainee Assistant Practitioner programme

Your bespoke learning journey

You’ll be supported to create your own personal development plan. This is used to identify your individual training needs, which can be met from the wide range of learning opportunities available such as clinical skills, management development, coaching and mentoring, IT skills and much more.

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Advancing your career

Qualifying as an Assistant Practitioner

Once you have completed a Foundation Degree apprenticeship, be offered an Assistant Practitioner (Band 4) role. During your time studying you'll be given plenty of support working under the guidance of a healthcare professional such as a nurse or therapist.

Where will this role take me?

Qualifying is only the beginning - we have a huge package of courses, masterclasses and clinical skills training to boost your potential and help you achieve your aspirations. Whether you are interested in progressing towards a senior position or would like to practice in an Allied Health Profession, we'll help you take your next steps and train to become a registered practitioner. Radiology, theatres and therapies are just some of the specialties you can try.

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Nursing scholarships

We also offer a scholarship programme which helps to fund staff who wish to ‘top up’ their assistant practitioner qualification in order to complete their nurse training. The Nursing Associate programme is currently an apprenticeship, which means that we will support you throughout the two-year programme. This includes work-based learning, placements across different settings and one day of academic learning a week to further hone your skillset. You will be paid at a Band 3 level whilst training.

Nursing Associate

Case study

Sarah Showan, MRI Trainee Assistant Practitioner

Previously, I worked as a Radiology Assistant Practitioner before realising that I wanted to push myself even further. Being a mature student whilst undergoing the Trainee Assistant Practitioner post was a great decision and very rewarding. I find working as an Assistant Practitioner within the MRI department an extremely rewarding position to be in within the Radiology department.

Every day is different, and I have support from my colleagues. Working at the Royal Devon has such a community feel. Although the North Devon District Hospital may be smaller than some hospitals, we are always busy caring for our patients. I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else! You can go further with your career after qualifying as an Assistant Practitioner, and there is so much choice within Radiology to do so.

You can advance your skills as you progress. This can be a challenging area for our patients, sometimes increased anxiety can make it difficult for them to be able to have their scans. If we can offer support and compassion along with reassurance, we can ensure they get the necessary diagnostic service. This is what I consider one of the most rewarding aspects of the role. I love supporting the Radiographers, and feel privileged to have gained the knowledge and experience I have.

MRI is a wonderful and friendly place to be!

What can I expect to get paid?

Agenda for change

Known as ‘Agenda for Change’, NHS pay is structured around different bandings for a fair and transparent pay structure. Levels of pay vary within each band according to experience. As your career develops, you can expect to earn more and move to the top of your pay banding before working your way up to the next one.

Healthcare Support Workers and Trainee Assistant Practitioners are usually within Bands 2 to 4
Registered Practitioners usually start within Band 5 or Band 6
Advanced Practitioners can advance all the way up to Band 7 and Band 8

NHS pay explained

Watch

Watch: become an Allied Health Professional

Work flexibly

Choose your shifts to suit your needs, apply to join our Staff Bank

Welcome back

Mentoring, requalifying, and re-registration are all covered in our generous Return to Practice package at the Royal Devon.