RecordMove

Nurse assistant to maternity support worker

A nurse assistant already meets 48% of what the maternity support worker role asks for. The move turns on 14 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional

From nurse assistant

Partial match

To maternity support worker

19 You already bring

14 Still to learn

50 Skills in the target role2

Learning distance Substantial retraining

62.4/ 100

adjacentmoderatesubstantialcareer change

1 How much of what a maternity support worker is expected to do is already part of a nurse assistant’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the maternity support worker role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A maternity support worker role treats 18 of its required skills as things a nurse assistant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

communicate with nursing staff
comply with legislation related to health care
comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice
contribute to continuity of health care
deal with emergency care situations
empathise with the healthcare user

What stands in the way is 14 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 19 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A maternity support worker role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a nurse assistant background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held identify abnormalities information skills
already held communicate with nursing staff communication, collaboration and creativity
already held provide basic support to patients assisting and caring
already held work with nursing staff communication, collaboration and creativity
already held support nurses communication, collaboration and creativity
already held distribute meals to patients assisting and caring

All 19 carried skills, including the 18 the maternity support worker role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 31 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier

01 communication, collaboration and creativity 5 required, 5 supplementary

still to learn advise on family planning required
still to learn advise on pregnancies at risk required
still to learn advise on pregnancy required
still to learn work in a multicultural environment in health care required
still to learn work under supervision in care required

optional, not held apply context specific clinical competences optional
optional, not held assess the course of breast-feeding period optional
optional, not held promote health and safety optional
optional, not held provide health education optional
optional, not held use different communication channels optional

02 assisting and caring 5 required

still to learn assist on pregnancy abnormality required
still to learn care for the new-born infant required
still to learn provide postnatal care required
still to learn provide pre-natal care required
still to learn empathise with the woman's family during and after pregnancy required

03 health and welfare 2 required, 6 supplementary

still to learn pregnancy required
still to learn childbirth required

optional, not held anaesthetics optional
optional, not held analgesics optional
optional, not held neonatology optional
optional, not held postpartum period optional
optional, not held preparation for child delivery optional
optional, not held preparation for parenthood optional

04 education 1 required, 1 supplementary

still to learn health education required

optional, not held sex education optional

05 information skills 1 required, 1 supplementary

still to learn examine the new-born infant required

optional, not held monitor pregnancy optional

06 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 2 supplementary

optional, not held embryology optional
optional, not held microbiology-bacteriology optional

2 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a maternity support worker role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 19 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held communicate with nursing staff skill
already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
already held comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
already held contribute to continuity of health care skill
already held deal with emergency care situations skill
already held empathise with the healthcare user skill
already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
already held follow clinical guidelines skill
already held human anatomy knowledge
already held hygiene in a health care setting knowledge
already held identify abnormalities skill
already held interact with healthcare users skill
already held listen actively skill
already held monitor basic patients signs skill
already held provide basic support to patients skill
already held support nurses skill
already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
already held work with nursing staff skill
already held distribute meals to patients skill

The 2 learning areas not shown above

Skill to pick up Tier

07 working with computers 1 supplementary

optional, not held have computer literacy optional

08 working with machinery and specialised equipment 1 supplementary

optional, not held use obstetric sonography optional

17 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to pick up Tier

optional, not held anaesthetics optional
optional, not held analgesics optional
optional, not held apply context specific clinical competences optional
optional, not held assess the course of breast-feeding period optional
optional, not held embryology optional
optional, not held microbiology-bacteriology optional
optional, not held monitor pregnancy optional
optional, not held neonatology optional
optional, not held postpartum period optional
optional, not held preparation for child delivery optional
optional, not held preparation for parenthood optional
optional, not held promote health and safety optional
optional, not held use obstetric sonography optional
optional, not held have computer literacy optional
optional, not held provide health education optional
optional, not held sex education optional
optional, not held use different communication channels optional

41 held skills the maternity support worker role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role accept own accountability skill
not needed by the target role acute care knowledge
not needed by the target role address problems critically skill
not needed by the target role adolescence medicine knowledge
not needed by the target role advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
not needed by the target role apply nursing care in long-term care skill
not needed by the target role apply person-centred care skill
not needed by the target role apply sustainability principles in health care skill
not needed by the target role communicate in healthcare skill
not needed by the target role disability care knowledge
not needed by the target role disability types knowledge
not needed by the target role first aid knowledge
not needed by the target role follow-up patients with heart attack skill
not needed by the target role general medicine knowledge
not needed by the target role geriatrics knowledge
not needed by the target role health care legislation knowledge
not needed by the target role human physiology knowledge
not needed by the target role implement fundamentals of nursing skill
not needed by the target role implement nursing care skill
not needed by the target role infection control knowledge
not needed by the target role innovation in nursing knowledge
not needed by the target role medicines knowledge
not needed by the target role nursing principles knowledge
not needed by the target role nursing science knowledge
not needed by the target role paediatrics knowledge
not needed by the target role palliative care knowledge
not needed by the target role pathology knowledge
not needed by the target role perform diagnostic testing for allergies skill
not needed by the target role perform venous cannulation skill
not needed by the target role person centred care knowledge
not needed by the target role pharmacology knowledge
not needed by the target role plan nursing care skill
not needed by the target role primary care knowledge
not needed by the target role promote a positive image of nursing skill
not needed by the target role promote inclusion skill
not needed by the target role provide professional care in nursing skill
not needed by the target role respond to changing situations in health care skill
not needed by the target role resuscitation knowledge
not needed by the target role safe management of medicines knowledge
not needed by the target role solve problems in healthcare skill

1 further entry not listed here

12 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier

still to learn pregnancy required
still to learn childbirth required
still to learn health education required
optional, not held anaesthetics optional
optional, not held analgesics optional
optional, not held embryology optional
optional, not held microbiology-bacteriology optional
optional, not held neonatology optional
optional, not held postpartum period optional
optional, not held preparation for child delivery optional
optional, not held preparation for parenthood optional
optional, not held sex education optional

Index

Other moves recorded from nurse assistant

Full index of moves from nurse assistant

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a nurse assistant become a maternity support worker?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A nurse assistant already covers 48% of what a maternity support worker is expected to do: 19 skills carry over, 18 of which the maternity support worker role treats as required.

What skills does a nurse assistant need to become a maternity support worker?

14 required skills are missing, plus 17 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is advise on family planning.

How hard is the move from nurse assistant to maternity support worker?

Its learning distance is 62.4 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.