**Be part of a team of health professionals empowered to deliver high quality patient centred care. Develop or extend your skills to become an Assistant Practitioner within our local area and earn your FdSc degree.**

Are you interested in a healthcare career and being able to stay local? If so, the Assistant Practitioner Health and Care degree programme may be for you. Our FdSc Assistant Practitioner - Health and Care has been aligned with the occupational standard for Assistant Practitioner Health and has been approved by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE). Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs)  have been approved as meeting occupational standards for the relevant sector.

Local employers in health care need a flexible, critically aware, and highly trained workforce who can adapt to an ever-changing sector. This programme has been developed with local employers to provide them with skilled practitioners who have had learning opportunities within simulated and real-world health environments in different settings, to develop essential skills, knowledge, and behaviours through the theoretical and competency-based course of study. 

Assistant practitioners work across the NHS in many different settings, sometimes alone and under the direct supervision of health professionals such as nurses, paramedics, physiotherapists, Occupational therapists, Speech and Language Therapists (SALT), dieticians, and more. They work as part of a wider team within health and care settings and have direct contact with patients, service users, and clients in hospitals and the community. As such, this programme will embed person-centred beliefs and allow students to explore the different care needs of individuals and become reflective practitioners. This will be achieved by completing theoretical and competency-based learning and 450 hours (approximately 14 weeks) of required placement hours over two years (225 each year) within the local health and care sectors. Once qualified and employed you will carry out agreed procedures, referring to a professional for guidance when necessary, and may mentor healthcare assistants, trainee assistant practitioners, and student nurses.
 
You will need to show the values and behaviours of the NHS, knowledge of physical and mental health and illness prevention, and more advanced knowledge, depending on your care setting.  Students will be taught up-to-date evidence-based practice and guidelines to ensure they have the necessary skills and knowledge to provide exemplary care.  Students will have access to two clinical simulation ward areas equipped with specialist equipment such as interactive manikins, moving and handling equipment, equipment to check vital signs, artificial wounds, artificial skin for injections, and much more. All elements of practice will be underpinned by theory and research, and students will be encouraged to develop their critical thinking skills and become reflective practitioners. As such, students will develop the skills and knowledge needed to deliver quality healthcare.   
 
Assistant practitioners need to be: 
 
- caring and kind 

- confident with using lifting equipment 

- willing to be hands-on with patients 

- able to follow instructions and procedures 

- able to work in a team but use their own initiative 

- able to explain procedures to patients 

You will also need effective: 
- communication skills, including listening 

- organisational and observational skills 

 
The assistant practitioner qualification is also a gateway to further training at Level 5 or 6 to become a registered health or social care professional such as nursing, paramedic, radiography, and more. 

To achieve the HTQ status, both level 4 and level 5 pathways must be completed.