Health and Social Care Career Guide

How to launch a career in the UK's Healthcare and Social Care Sector

How to decide if a career in Health & Social Care is the right choice for you?

It is important to have a career planning checklist to make sure that you're cut for it, and that you have the motivation and the professional training qualification to make your career choice rewarding in the long run.

You can get direct, real life insight from various professionals in healthcare - or, you can get personalised advice from career specialists and training providers who prepare the UK's next generation of health and social care professionals, all here, on findcourses.co.uk!

Where do you start your education and professional training for the healthcare sector?

There are numerous health and social care training options that one can enroll on that can put you on track for a career in this sector. The health sector is a vital and developing market in the UK, and in recent years, it has had a positive  growth. This has resulted in the increase of both the demand of health practitioners and the qualification standards required to enter a profession in this field.

If you choose to pursue a career in health sector in the UK, there are several fields that offer learning opportunities in the country. Specialised training providers offer an extensive range of courses in the health and social care sector.

Popular Job Roles in Health and Social Care

We've selected some of the most popular job roles across the UK's health and social care sector. There's been a constant demand for qualified professionals to fulfill job roles in health and social care across the UK. Scroll down to the job role that interests you, check out the average salary and find the training that will prepare you for that health and social care job role.

Registered Nurse

Getting trained to be a registered nurse gives one the chance of working in the diverse department of medicine. Currently in the UK, there is an increased demand for qualified nurses, and many students have opted to take a professional specialisation course and launch a successful and rewarding career. To be registered in the nursing practice field, one is required to have an associate degree and other certification requirements as required by the employing institution.

To become a registered nurse you must complete a degree that will assure you a promising career in the UK upon completion of the course. There is a rise in the demand for registered nurses in the country. One advantage of this course is the availability of job positions. Nurses work in settings such as nursing homes, patients at homes, at hospitals, maternity homes and at health centers.

An investment in professional training as a nurse is financially rewarding, with an average salary for a registered nurse of around £34,000.

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Medical Secretary

Medical secretary positions are available in the NHS, specialised clinics and private practice offices.

Training programmes preparing clinical medical assistants and medical secretaries enable candidates to assist physicians to perform tasks related to the clinical aspect of medical offices. 

Courses that prepare medical secretaries cover a comprehensive medical training curriculum and practical office administration skill set, making clinical and medical secretaries effective in their work with patients and physicians.

Medical secretaries earn an average salary of around £21,000  per year.

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Healthcare Assistant

As a healthcare assistant, you are expected to work with other healthcare professionals to assess a patient's medical or physical condition, and to evaluate patient needs. The types of tasks that healthcare assistants undertake vary widely. They include patient advocacy, referring patient to community resources or financial assistance, investigating child abuse or neglect cases, counselling patients as well as evaluating and monitoring client progress in accordance with a treatment and care plan.

The average salary for a healthcare assistant is around £43,000  per year.

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Radiology Technician

A radiology technician, also known as an x-ray tech, captures the images of human tissues and organs using the X-ray machines. Following professional training in this field one has a chance of working in hospital setting and other x-ray specialised clinics using state-of-the-art technologies that help support the diagnosis and patient care processes.

A typical university degree course leading to a radiology specialisation takes two years to complete, and directly qualifies graduates for professional work within radiology departments. Radiology technician training courses focus on dealing with x-rays technology and CT scanning.

The average salary for a Radiographer is around £39,000 per year.

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Massage Therapist

As a trained massage therapist, one can work in pulmonary practices and at personal home health facilities. It only required 2 years to be a registered massage therapist, although you can further your studies to learn complex types of massage therapy.

A massage therapist earns on average around £31,000  per year.

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Medical Devices Auditing

Professional training programmes covering the international ISO standards for the verification and quality assurance of medical equipment and research laboratories have been developed by industry experts over the past twenty years. Auditing professionals conduct internal audits of medical devices in compliance with international standards.

With growing market competitiveness, medical devices buyers are increasingly savvy when choosing their preferred provider and ensuring quality compliance is at the top of the priority list for medical devices manufacturers.

The average salary for a quality assurance manager is around £31,000 per year.

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