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Health Visiting

View the employability skills

A graduate in health visiting typically will have the ability to:

  • exercise numeracy and ICT skills
  • gather information from a wide range of sources including electronic data
  • systematically analyse and evaluate information collected and exercise professional judgement with confidence
  • communicate effectively with the client or patient, their relatives and carers and the group/community/population, about their health and social care needs
  • use assessment techniques and make provisional identification of health and physical, psychological, social and cultural needs and problems
  • recognise the contribution of their assessment within health care through effective communication with other members of the health and social care team
  • maintain the standards and requirements of professional and statutory regulatory bodies and adhere to relevant codes of conduct
  • understand the legal and ethical responsibilities of professional practice
  • maintain the principles and practice of patient/client confidentiality
  • practise in accordance with legislation applicable to health care professionals
  • exercise a professional duty of care to patients, clients and carers
  • recognise the duty to maintain fitness for practice and the need for continuing professional development and learning.
  • contribute to the development and dissemination of evidence based practice within professional contexts
  • uphold the principles and practice of clinical governance.

Health visiting is a specialist discipline within community nursing practice. It has a significant focus on public health and shares areas of practice and health care goals with colleagues in primary care and other professions. The search for health needs is regarded as the primary function of the profession. Through work with individuals, families, groups and communities, health visitors seek to promote health and well-being and prevent illness. Whilst there is an emphasis within health visiting practice on child and family health, work with populations and communities to address issues of health and social inequalities and social exclusion represents an increasing focus on public health.

The health visiting service is dynamic and health-focused and able to respond flexibly to a range of service and community needs. Health visiting is underpinned by four principles that guide and direct professional practice. These are the search for health needs, the stimulation of an awareness of health needs, the influence on policies affecting health and the facilitation of health-enhancing activities.

Degree programmes have an equal balance of theory and practice and graduates must meet professional registration requirements. Learning involves the study of subject specific knowledge, the acquisition of skills and values, the critical application of research knowledge from health and social sciences, and reflection and evaluation in health visiting practice. Students are prepared for multi-professional and multi-agency working.

To check the growing range of resources produced by the Subject Centre to support employability and the use of this profile (including the Skills and Attributes map) go to www.health.heacademy.ac.uk.

This profile, produced in 2004, is based on the QAA benchmark to be found at www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/benchmark/honours/default.asp


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