UNIT 6 P7
DESCRIBE THE ROLES, RESPONSIBILITES AND CAREER PATHWAYS OF
THREE HEALTH OR SOCIAL CARE WORKERS.
A role is a position that individuals do in a situation and a responsibility is having a
duty or control over someone. (TheFreeDictionary, 2014). The objective of this
assignment is to describe the roles, responsibilities and career pathway of three
health or social care workers. Initially, I will be describing the three health or social
care workers that I chose. These are Adult nurses, Dental hygienist and Dietician.
ADULT NURSES
Adult nurses work with old and young adults with diverse health conditions. Their
priorities consist of care, manage, teach and deliver all aspects of interpersonal skills
to improve their patients' lives. They care for patients with both chronic and acute
conditions. They encourage good health and wellbeing through education. Adult
nurses work mainly in hospitals and the community, attached to a health centre or in
general practice and in residential homes, specialist units or schools. Adult nurses
work among other professional such as doctors to attend a patient’s needs. Adult
nurses responsibilities include checking temperatures, measuring blood pressure
and breathing rates, giving drugs and injections, cleaning and dressing wounds,
giving blood transfusions, writing care plans and records, providing information,
emotional support and reassurance to patients and relatives and dealing with
emergencies (National Careers Service, 2014).
Adults nurses have to require at least five GCSEs (A-C), including English, maths
and science. They are also expected to study a three or four-year degree in nursing,
with their time divided between formal teaching and practical experience. For the
adult nursing, applicants have to provide supporting evidence of their interest in adult
nursing is to be prepared to undergo a medical examination (TARGETjobs, 2014).
For the training, applicants had to be a part of a nursing training programme where
the applicants do work placements in hospitals and in the community as they are still
studying in university.
Page 1
, The skills required for adult nursing are an excellent interpersonal skills to effectively
communicate with patients, relatives and healthcare professionals. They must also
have teamwork skills and the ability to work on your own initiative so that they could
deal with unexpected situations and also are able to act on their own to make quick
decisions. Other skills include practical skills, observational skills, listening skills, a
non-judgmental attitude to care, a clear understanding of confidentiality, the ability to
inspire confidence and trust, the ability to remain calm under pressure, good
organisational and time management skills (National Careers Service, 2014).
The personal attributes these adult nurses has is commitment, organization skills,
responsible, confidence to make decisions, the ability to remain calm in difficult
situation. Adult nurses have to be committed to their work as they have to continue
learning other things while providing care for their patients throughout your career
(National Careers Service, 2014).
The positions that Adult nurses can progress to be a ward nurse, ward manager and
then team leader depending on the development of management skills and level of
specialist knowledge. Additional roles include district nurse, occupational health
nurse, practical nurse, sexual health nurse and specialist nurse. Many of these roles
involve working in the community or within alternative settings such as schools or GP
practices (National Careers Service, 2014).
DENTAL HYGIENIST
Dental hygienist also (known as an oral health practitioner) role is to help prevent
problems from arising.
Dental hygienist carry out procedures such as scaling and polishing teeth, and
applying topical fluoride and fissure sealants. They also contribute to patients who
are having surgery or complicated orthodontic treatment or those with particular
medical conditions to maintain a healthy mouth. Dental hygienists work in hospitals
and in community dental services, but most frequently in general dental practice. The
role of a dentist is to encourage patients to look after their teeth and gums. The
responsibility of a dental hygienist is to clean and polish teeth to help prevent gum
disease, give local anaesthetic under the supervision of a dentist, apply antibacterial
treatments to reduce decay,apply temporary coatings and sealants to protect teeth
Page 2
DESCRIBE THE ROLES, RESPONSIBILITES AND CAREER PATHWAYS OF
THREE HEALTH OR SOCIAL CARE WORKERS.
A role is a position that individuals do in a situation and a responsibility is having a
duty or control over someone. (TheFreeDictionary, 2014). The objective of this
assignment is to describe the roles, responsibilities and career pathway of three
health or social care workers. Initially, I will be describing the three health or social
care workers that I chose. These are Adult nurses, Dental hygienist and Dietician.
ADULT NURSES
Adult nurses work with old and young adults with diverse health conditions. Their
priorities consist of care, manage, teach and deliver all aspects of interpersonal skills
to improve their patients' lives. They care for patients with both chronic and acute
conditions. They encourage good health and wellbeing through education. Adult
nurses work mainly in hospitals and the community, attached to a health centre or in
general practice and in residential homes, specialist units or schools. Adult nurses
work among other professional such as doctors to attend a patient’s needs. Adult
nurses responsibilities include checking temperatures, measuring blood pressure
and breathing rates, giving drugs and injections, cleaning and dressing wounds,
giving blood transfusions, writing care plans and records, providing information,
emotional support and reassurance to patients and relatives and dealing with
emergencies (National Careers Service, 2014).
Adults nurses have to require at least five GCSEs (A-C), including English, maths
and science. They are also expected to study a three or four-year degree in nursing,
with their time divided between formal teaching and practical experience. For the
adult nursing, applicants have to provide supporting evidence of their interest in adult
nursing is to be prepared to undergo a medical examination (TARGETjobs, 2014).
For the training, applicants had to be a part of a nursing training programme where
the applicants do work placements in hospitals and in the community as they are still
studying in university.
Page 1
, The skills required for adult nursing are an excellent interpersonal skills to effectively
communicate with patients, relatives and healthcare professionals. They must also
have teamwork skills and the ability to work on your own initiative so that they could
deal with unexpected situations and also are able to act on their own to make quick
decisions. Other skills include practical skills, observational skills, listening skills, a
non-judgmental attitude to care, a clear understanding of confidentiality, the ability to
inspire confidence and trust, the ability to remain calm under pressure, good
organisational and time management skills (National Careers Service, 2014).
The personal attributes these adult nurses has is commitment, organization skills,
responsible, confidence to make decisions, the ability to remain calm in difficult
situation. Adult nurses have to be committed to their work as they have to continue
learning other things while providing care for their patients throughout your career
(National Careers Service, 2014).
The positions that Adult nurses can progress to be a ward nurse, ward manager and
then team leader depending on the development of management skills and level of
specialist knowledge. Additional roles include district nurse, occupational health
nurse, practical nurse, sexual health nurse and specialist nurse. Many of these roles
involve working in the community or within alternative settings such as schools or GP
practices (National Careers Service, 2014).
DENTAL HYGIENIST
Dental hygienist also (known as an oral health practitioner) role is to help prevent
problems from arising.
Dental hygienist carry out procedures such as scaling and polishing teeth, and
applying topical fluoride and fissure sealants. They also contribute to patients who
are having surgery or complicated orthodontic treatment or those with particular
medical conditions to maintain a healthy mouth. Dental hygienists work in hospitals
and in community dental services, but most frequently in general dental practice. The
role of a dentist is to encourage patients to look after their teeth and gums. The
responsibility of a dental hygienist is to clean and polish teeth to help prevent gum
disease, give local anaesthetic under the supervision of a dentist, apply antibacterial
treatments to reduce decay,apply temporary coatings and sealants to protect teeth
Page 2
