Nursing Associate

The nursing associate role was created to provide a registered, trained professional who can deliver skilled nursing care while bridging the gap between healthcare support workers and registered nurses. Nursing associates work across a wide range of healthcare settings, carrying out clinical assessments, administering medicines, supporting patients with daily living activities, and monitoring health conditions under the direction of registered nurses and as part of multidisciplinary care teams.

At the University of Gloucestershire, this two-year full-time programme prepares you to work as a compassionate, competent, and confident nursing associate, qualified to academic level 5, equivalent to a foundation degree. You will develop a systematic knowledge base covering the science of care, anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, and the evidence-based practice frameworks that guide clinical decision-making, alongside the clinical skills and interpersonal capabilities that patient-centred care requires. Clinical placements in a range of healthcare settings are central to the programme, giving you supervised experience of real patient care across different contexts before you qualify.

The programme leads to registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Graduates register as nursing associates and work in NHS hospitals, community healthcare, care homes, GP practices, mental health services, and other regulated health and care settings. The qualification also serves as a recognised pathway for those who wish to progress to full registered nurse status, and many nursing associates go on to further training through top-up degree routes. The nursing associate workforce is expanding across the NHS, and trained practitioners are consistently in demand.