Adult nurse

Adult nurses are qualified medical experts who work as part of a multi-disciplinary team, from diagnosis through every stage of a patient’s healthcare journey.   

They deliver clinical treatment and care to adults of all ages. Patients may suffer from one or more long or short-term physical health conditions, such as heart disease, pneumonia, arthritis, diabetes, cancer or injuries from an accident. So as well as their medical expertise, adult nurses need an attentive and supportive nature.

Building a trusting relationship with each patient is essential. As an adult nurse, your aim is to improve your patient's quality of life, whatever their situation. You’ll need to take lots of factors into account and juggle many priorities to get the best possible results for your patients.  

As an adult nurse you might work in a hospital, on a ward, or in an outpatient unit or specialist department.

Or you might work in the community, such as in:

• a patient’s home
• a clinic, GP surgery, walk-in centre, or nursing home
• the prison service 
• the police  
• the voluntary or private sector 

Adult nurses working in the NHS will usually start on band 5, which goes from £24,214 to £30,112, and you’ll do 37.5 hours per week as standard. 

You might work in a shift pattern if you work in a residential setting. With further experience, training, and qualifications, adult nurses can move into more senior posts with higher salary bands.

If you work in the private or voluntary sectors, or another public sector organisation, your pay and benefits will vary.

As you progress through your career there are plenty of options.

You can specialise in an area such as: 

• operating theatres
• caring for the elderly
• intensive care

You could also decide to move into working in management, teaching or clinical research.  

To be a successful adult nurse, you’ll need excellent communication skills. You’ll need to be able to communicate effectively with patients and their families, as well as with your colleagues.

Planning the right care and treatment starts with listening to the patient and their family or carers, to understand their needs. 

Adult nurses need to make sure that their patients are clearly understood by everyone else. You’ll need to be able to advocate for your patients and anticipate their needs. 

You’ll need excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work well anywhere and with anyone, including all the other members of your multi-disciplinary team.

Adult nurses care for people from every part of our society. Each patient is affected differently by a range of conditions, so you need to be able to adapt the care and treatment you give.

Nursing is a stressful job where traumatic situations are common, but nurses also experience wonderful outcomes and form close bonds. You need to be able to deal with the emotions you’ll encounter every day and stay professional.

You’ll also need to maintain positive mental and physical health, both for yourself and so you can provide the best care to your patients. 

An adult nurse works at the centre of a multi-disciplinary team alongside a lot of other qualified medical professionals. 

As well as working closely with patients' families and carers, you’ll be at the centre of a team that may include:

• doctors
• occupational therapists
• pharmacists
• radiographers 
• healthcare assistants 

To deliver the best care, the whole team needs to be able to work together effectively. 

Part of an adult nurse’s role is to assess patients and make decisions about the best course of action to provide the most effective care and treatment.  

You’ll need to be able to think quickly and address problems as they arise – or even before. With sick patients, trauma cases, and emergencies, nurses always need to be on hand to solve a tricky situation.  

To become a learning disability nurse you’ll need to train and study at a degree level in a course approved by the Nursing & Midwifery Council. Some degree courses let you study another area of nursing alongside learning disability nursing.

You may be able to join a nursing degree on the second year of a course if you already have a degree in:

• a health-related subject
• psychology
• life sciences
• social work

Full-time courses usually take three years.

You can find a learning disability nursing course to suit you using the NHS’ Course Finder tool.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need: 

• five GCSEs 9 to 4 (A* to C), including English, maths, and a science
• two or three A levels, including a science, or a Level 3 diploma or Access to higher education in health, science or nursing

You may be able to do a degree apprenticeship in nursing if you work in a healthcare setting like a hospital. The apprenticeship takes around four years and is a mix of academic study and on-the-job training. You must be supported by your employer to take this route.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• four or five GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), and college qualifications like A levels for a degree apprenticeship

You may be able to qualify through an 18-month learning disability nursing conversion course if you're already a registered nurse in a different branch. You'll need to speak to your employer if you want to do this.