Nurse assistant to nurse responsible for general care
A nurse assistant already meets 50% of what the nurse responsible for general care role asks for. The move turns on 44 required skills not yet in the profile.
69/ 100
1 How much of what a nurse responsible for general care 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 nurse responsible for general care role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A nurse responsible for general care role treats 48 of its required skills as things a nurse assistant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- acute care
- address problems critically
- adolescence medicine
- advise on healthcare users' informed consent
- apply nursing care in long-term care
What stands in the way is 44 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 49 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A nurse responsible for general care 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.
- already held adolescence medicine health and welfare
- already held person centred care health and welfare
- already held apply sustainability principles in health care assisting and caring
- already held acute care health and welfare
- already held apply nursing care in long-term care assisting and caring
- already held implement nursing care assisting and caring
All 49 carried skills, including the 48 the nurse responsible for general care role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 57 missing skills fall into 10 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.
- still to learn apply context specific clinical competences required
- still to learn empower individuals, families and groups required
- still to learn participate in health personnel training required
- still to learn provide comprehensive care for patients with surgical conditions required
- still to learn provide nursing advice on healthcare required
- still to learn advise on healthy lifestyles required
- still to learn develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship required
- still to learn educate on the prevention of illness required
- still to learn inform policy makers on health-related challenges required
- still to learn promote human rights required
- still to learn provide health education required
- still to learn work in a multicultural environment in health care required
- optional, not held advise patients on infectious diseases when travelling optional
- optional, not held use clinical reasoning optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages for health-related research optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages in patient care optional
- still to learn citizen involvement in healthcare required
- still to learn evidence-based nursing care required
- still to learn leadership in nursing required
- still to learn patient autonomy required
- still to learn dietetics required
- still to learn surgery required
- still to learn impact of social contexts on health required
- still to learn newborn care required
- still to learn psychiatry required
- still to learn public health required
- optional, not held patient safety theories optional
- still to learn coordinate care required
- still to learn delegate emergency care required
- still to learn provide treatment strategies for challenges to human health required
- still to learn adapt leadership styles in healthcare required
- still to learn apply organisational techniques required
- still to learn implement scientific decision making in healthcare required
- still to learn manage personal professional development required
- optional, not held carry out nurse-led discharge optional
- optional, not held supervise medical residents optional
- still to learn manage multiple patients simultaneously required
- still to learn provide stroke rehabilitation services required
- still to learn adhere to organisational guidelines required
- still to learn initiate life preserving measures required
- optional, not held provide nursing care in community settings optional
- optional, not held prescribe medication optional
- optional, not held provide palliative care optional
- optional, not held treat medical conditions of elderly people optional
- still to learn analyse quality of nurse care required
- still to learn diagnose nursing care required
- still to learn evaluate nursing care required
- still to learn manage information in health care required
- still to learn pedagogy required
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- optional, not held simulation-based clinical education optional
4 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a nurse responsible for general care role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 citizen involvement in healthcare study this
- 02 evidence-based nursing care study this
- 03 leadership in nursing study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 49 skills that carry over
- already held accept own accountability skill
- already held acute care knowledge
- already held address problems critically skill
- already held adolescence medicine knowledge
- already held advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
- already held apply nursing care in long-term care skill
- already held apply person-centred care skill
- already held apply sustainability principles in health care skill
- already held communicate in healthcare 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 disability care knowledge
- already held empathise with the healthcare user skill
- already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- already held first aid knowledge
- already held follow clinical guidelines skill
- already held general medicine knowledge
- already held geriatrics knowledge
- already held health care legislation knowledge
- already held human anatomy knowledge
- already held human physiology knowledge
- already held hygiene in a health care setting knowledge
- already held implement fundamentals of nursing skill
- already held implement nursing care skill
- already held infection control knowledge
- already held innovation in nursing knowledge
- already held interact with healthcare users skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held nursing principles knowledge
- already held nursing science knowledge
- already held paediatrics knowledge
- already held palliative care knowledge
- already held pathology knowledge
- already held person centred care knowledge
- already held pharmacology knowledge
- already held plan nursing care skill
- already held primary care knowledge
- already held promote a positive image of nursing skill
- already held promote inclusion skill
- already held provide professional care in nursing skill
- already held respond to changing situations in health care skill
- already held resuscitation knowledge
- already held safe management of medicines knowledge
- already held solve problems in healthcare skill
- already held use electronic health records in nursing skill
- already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
- already held perform venous cannulation skill
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn psychology required
- still to learn sociology required
- still to learn use e-health and mobile health technologies required
- still to learn have computer literacy required
- still to learn biological chemistry required
- optional, not held assist in kidney transplant optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held advise patients on infectious diseases when travelling optional
- optional, not held provide nursing care in community settings optional
- optional, not held assist in kidney transplant optional
- optional, not held carry out nurse-led discharge optional
- optional, not held patient safety theories optional
- optional, not held prescribe medication optional
- optional, not held provide palliative care optional
- optional, not held simulation-based clinical education optional
- optional, not held supervise medical residents optional
- optional, not held treat medical conditions of elderly people optional
- optional, not held use clinical reasoning optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages for health-related research optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages in patient care optional
11 held skills the nurse responsible for general care role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role communicate with nursing staff skill
- not needed by the target role disability types knowledge
- not needed by the target role distribute meals to patients skill
- not needed by the target role follow-up patients with heart attack skill
- not needed by the target role identify abnormalities skill
- not needed by the target role medicines knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor basic patients signs skill
- not needed by the target role perform diagnostic testing for allergies skill
- not needed by the target role provide basic support to patients skill
- not needed by the target role support nurses skill
- not needed by the target role work with nursing staff skill
17 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn citizen involvement in healthcare required
- still to learn evidence-based nursing care required
- still to learn leadership in nursing required
- still to learn patient autonomy required
- still to learn biological chemistry required
- still to learn dietetics required
- still to learn surgery required
- still to learn impact of social contexts on health required
- still to learn newborn care required
- still to learn pedagogy required
- still to learn psychiatry required
- still to learn psychology required
- still to learn public health required
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- still to learn sociology required
- optional, not held patient safety theories optional
- optional, not held simulation-based clinical education optional
Common questions about this move
Can a nurse assistant become a nurse responsible for general care?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A nurse assistant already covers 50% of what a nurse responsible for general care is expected to do: 49 skills carry over, 48 of which the nurse responsible for general care role treats as required.
What skills does a nurse assistant need to become a nurse responsible for general care?
44 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is citizen involvement in healthcare.
How hard is the move from nurse assistant to nurse responsible for general care?
Its learning distance is 69 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
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.