King's College London

In 2015 the government announced the creation of a new Nursing Associate role designed to help bridge the gap between health and care assistants and registered nurses. It is a stand-alone role that is designed to provide a progression route into graduate level nursing.

The NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce is examining the introduction of the Nursing Associate role and the extent to which it has achieved the policy aims of providing a new route into nursing and of reducing the skills gap between health and care assistants and registered nurses.

A new paper from Ian Kessler and colleagues reports survey findings of the views and experiences of over 500 Nursing Associates / trainee Nursing Associates – the largest dedicated survey of this group of employees to date. (It joins with an earlier focus on policymaker and practitioner perspectives.)

There continues to be much debate on the nature and consequences of the Nursing Associate role, which in the absence of strong evidence has often been impressionistic, anecdotal and in some instances speculative. This report provides a firmer empirical foundation for an understanding of how these professionals (and trainees) experience employment or training, and how they view their working lives.