Health visitor
Visit people in their homes and give them information, practical care and support to help them stay healthy.
Also known as: public health nurse
About the job
What it's like
You would visit people in their homes and give them information, practical care and support to help them stay healthy.
Health visitors are experienced and qualified registered nurses or midwives.
You’d visit people of all ages and backgrounds. You’d focus on people who need special help, such as new mothers and their babies.
You could:
Advise new mothers for example about the hygiene, safety, feeding and sleeping of their baby
Counsel people on issues such as post-natal depression, bereavement or being diagnosed HIV positive
Coordinate child immunisation programmes
Organise special clinics or drop-in centres
You’d listen to your patients and try to understand what issues may be causing them distress. It is important to be tactful, and it will be useful if you can interpret body language and other non-verbal communication.
The information, practical care and support you can provide will help people cope with difficulties they are experiencing. You’d work closely with other agencies such as social services and local housing departments.
A good understanding of child protection issues is also important.
You can see more about this role in the National Health Service on the Health visitor page on the NHSScotland Careers website.
Hours
You would typically work 37.5 hours a week, Monday to Friday. However, some evening work may be necessary to run clinics and drop-in centres. Part-time and flexible working hours are often available
Environment
You would usually cover the geographical area of a GP practice and spend most of your time visiting clients in their own homes. As part of your role, you may also run group support sessions in surgeries and health centres.
Travel
A driving licence would be needed for most jobs.
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Top skills
Skills are things you're good at. Whether you know what yours are or not, everyone has them!
It's useful to learn which ones are important in a job so you know the areas you need to brush up on. It can also help you work out if you're suited to a career.
Top specialised skills
These are the top specialised skills that have been found in job vacancies across Scotland. From March 2024 to March 2025.
- public health nursing
- midwifery
- child protection
- health equity
- guarding
Meta skills
Here are some of the meta skills you'll need to do this job.
- taking responsibility
- making decisions
- developing a plan
- social conscience
- empathising
- researching
- written communication
- verbal communication
- listening
- resilience
Your skills are important
Our unique skillsets are what make us stand out from the crowd. Learn about each skill in depth and discover what employers look for in your applications and interviews.
Getting in
Explore each section to find more information about getting into this career.
Colleges and universities will list subjects you'll need for entry to a course. Some useful subjects include:
Biology
Care
Childcare and Development
Skills for Work: Health and Social Care
Foundation Apprenticeship: Social Services and Healthcare
Foundation Apprenticeship: Social Services Children and Young People
You can get a head start in this career by doing a Foundation Apprenticeship in S5 and S6.
You'll get an SCQF level 6 qualification which is the same level as a Higher. You'll also learn new skills and gain valuable experience in a work environment.
Discover what's on offer at your school on Apprenticeships.scot.
You need a degree in nursing (SCQF Level 9/10) and two years' experience working as a Registered Nurse before taking a postgraduate qualifications (SCQF Level 11) in public health combined with supervised on-the-job training.
To enter a postgraduate course (SCQF Level 11) you will usually require a nursing degree and relevant experience.
For entry into a nursing degree you'll normally need three or four Highers plus National 5 qualifications.
You may need a driving licence.
Qualifications that demonstrate understanding of health and wellbeing, such as:
Health and Social Care (SCQF Level 6)
SQA Wellbeing Award (SCQF Level 3-5)
To pass a Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Disclosure check
Evidence that you do not have, and have been immunised against, Hepatitis B.
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Browse courses in Scotland related to 'Health visitor'
