Nursing Support Workers (Matter for Discussion)

A nurse using a laptop Submitted by the Nursing Support Workers Committee.

That this meeting of RCN Congress discusses the availability of courses and resources for Nursing Support Workers.

More information can be found on the RCN Congress pages: https://www.rcn.org.uk/congress/Agenda

Please see below for some relevant resources you might like to look at ahead of the debate.

Reading List — Nursing Support Workers (Matter for Discussion)

Clarke S, Wood L, Farrell A, Evison P and Stupple P (2019) Developing a course for primary care healthcare assistants in recognising and responding to deteriorating patients, Primary health care, 29(2), pp. 32–36.
Dorset NHS (2019) Earn as you learn on Dorset NHS’s new Registered Nurse Degree Apprenticeship course, British journal of healthcare assistants, 13(4), pp. 200–200.
Driffield A (2016) From healthcare support worker to registered nurse, Nursing management, 23(5), pp. 26–29.
Genders N (2017) Student life - Flexible pathway into the profession for support staff, Nursing standard, 31(47), pp. 35-35.
Gould D, Carr G and Kelly D (2006) Seconding healthcare assistants to a pre-registration nursing course: Role transition to qualified practitioner, Journal of research in nursing, 11(6), pp. 561–572.
Greatorex T, Cresswell A and Hirst P (2002) Developments in education, Cancer nursing practice, 1(4), , pp. 26–30.
Hasson F, McKenna H P and Keeney S (2013) Perceptions of the unregistered healthcare worker’s role in pre-registration student nurses’ clinical training, Journal of advanced nursing, 69(7), pp. 1618–1629.
Padfield B and Knowles R (2014) Development of learning facilitation roles for unregistered practitioners, Nursing standard, 29(16), pp. 35–40.
Rout A and Titley J (2010) Higher education learning and development in care homes, British journal of healthcare assistants, 4(6), pp. 290–293.
Thunborg C (2016) Learning behind the curtains – becoming health care assistants in Sweden, Diversity and equality in health and care, 13(2), pp. 165–171.
Wharrad H et al. (2020) In-PREP: a new learning design framework and methodology applied to a relational care training intervention for healthcare assistants, BMC health services research, 20(1), pp. 1010–1010.

Alsop A (2013) ‘Learning strategies and CPD for support workers’, in Alsop A (ed.) Continuing Professional Development in Health and Social Care. United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, pp. 146–152