Adult nurse

Adult nurses in the NHS help people cope with illness, treatment and recovery by assessing their needs, writing care plans and monitoring progress during medical care.

To work in the NHS, nurses must be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

Starting your career

Choosing subjects at school

To get on a course that could lead to a career in nursing, useful subjects include:

Biology
Human Biology
Chemistry
Care
Psychology
English
Maths

Work placement and volunteering

You may find it helpful to get some experience of working in healthcare by doing a work placement. There may also be opportunities to volunteer. This could help you when applying to university, college or a new job with NHSScotland.

Apprenticeships

Foundation Apprenticeships

A Foundation Apprenticeship could give you the skills, knowledge and work experience to become an adult nurse.

Find out more about a Foundation Apprenticeship in Social Service and Healthcare.

Modern Apprenticeships

Begin or continue your journey towards becoming an adult nurse by completing a Modern Apprenticeship.

Learn about the Modern Apprenticeship in Healthcare Support.

All Healthcare Support modern apprentices study the three mandatory units of communication, health and safety, and learning development. For nursing, you will then choose your remaining units from the clinical pathway options.

College and university

At college, you can do an HNC in Healthcare Practice, which could lead to an undergraduate pre-registration nursing degree.

Widening participation supports adult learners who want to go to university. If you’re an adult with few or no qualifications, you can get into higher education through the Scottish Wider Access Programme (SWAP). Many universities also provide access programmes to help learners get the degree entry qualifications they need.

Fully-funded degree-level nursing programmes through the Open University are available if you’re an experienced nursing support worker who wants to become a registered nurse.

In Scotland, the following universities offer undergraduate programmes in adult nursing, approved by the NMC:

Edinburgh Napier University
Glasgow Caledonian University
Queen Margaret University
Robert Gordon University
The Open University
University of Dundee
University of Edinburgh
University of Glasgow
University of Stirling
University of the Highlands and Islands
University of the West of Scotland

Pre-registration undergraduate programmes usually take 3 years full-time study. Part-time options and distance learning opportunities may also be available.

Some universities offer an accelerated postgraduate masters-level route for pre-registration nursing, which takes 2 to 2.5 years.

For more information on related further and higher education courses, search My World of Work.

The role

You would have a vital role in helping adult patients and their families understand information about their diagnoses, treatment and health more generally. You’ll also learn how to carry out different types of clinical procedures and respond to each patient’s physical, clinical and emotional needs.

Depending on your role, you could:

develop specific skills in surgical and medical care
focus on community or palliative care

What you’ll do

Tasks include:

carrying out physical examinations and clinical assessments
monitoring patients and recording their clinical condition
giving medications and injections
responding quickly to emergencies
acting as an advocate for patients and their families

You would also support people with their wider nutritional, physical, hygiene and emotional needs.

Top skills

You’ll need these skills:

caring
listening
problem-solving
communication
teamworking
critical thinking

As a nurse, you’ll need to be able to review clinical information and make decisions about care. Soft skills like empathy and compassion are important too.

Who you’ll work with

Adult nurses usually work in a team with other health and social care professionals, including:

doctors
healthcare support workers
pharmacists
healthcare scientists
physiotherapists
social workers
carers

Working environment

As an adult nurse the NHS, you could work in:

hospitals
health centres
people’s homes
prisons
NHS24

Adult nurses also work in the care sector, independent healthcare sector, education, industry and the military.

Useful information

To work as an adult nurse in NHSScotland, you’ll need to:

complete occupational health checks
join Disclosure Scotland's Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme

Did you know?

There are over 47,900 registered nurses working in the NHS in Scotland.

Learning and development

Once registered as an adult nurse, there are ongoing requirements for education and skills development. You’ll also have lots of opportunities to go further and learn more.

In your first year as a newly qualified nurse, you’ll get extra support and guidance through the Flying Start programme.

In the NHS, you may choose to be a staff nurse throughout your nursing career, keeping up to date through continuing professional development. Taking extra courses and workplace learning could lead to progression through the career pathway to senior, advanced or consultant level.

When you’ve qualified and gained experience as a registered adult nurse, there are lots of specialisms to choose from, including:

district nursing
general practice nursing
rehabilitation nursing
older people’s nursing
accident and emergency nursing
intensive care nursing
theatre nursing
cancer and palliative care nursing
community staff nursing
occupational health nursing

Revalidation

Revalidation is a process that nurses need to follow to maintain their registration with the NMC every 3 years.