Nursing and Midwifery

This page has been designed to give a starting point for those looking into careers in Nursing and Midwifery.

What is Nursing and Midwifery?

Nurses, midwives and health visitors provide health care and health promotion services in hospitals and in the community. They work as part of interdisciplinary teams that include doctors, other health care professionals and other professionals such as social workers and psychologists.

The health sector employs approximately two million people across the UK within the National Health Services, independent healthcare providers and voluntary organisations (Skills for Health).

As a nurse it is possible to work in, among others, hospitals, GP surgeries, clinics, nursing and residential homes, occupational health services, voluntary organisations that run hospices or residential care and the pharmaceutical industry. Nurses also work in the prison service, university education, on cruise ships or for the armed forces (Royal College of Nursing).

Midwives are often the key health professional supporting, guiding and caring for the mother, baby and family through the months of pregnancy, during the birth itself and afterwards in the postnatal period (Royal College of Nursing).

How do I get into it?

  • NHS Careers
    Comprehensive careers information for all careers in the NHS including entry requirements and routes into nursing, as well as a list of institutions that provide nurse training and education.
  • NHS Recruitment Scotland
    NHS education and recruitment for Scotland
  • Nursing and Midwifery Council
    Information and advice for students and recently qualified nurses/midwives.
  • Prospects: Job sectors
    Public sector
    Charities and voluntary work
    Information on education, health care, higher education, government jobs, social care and the voluntary sector.
  • Skills for Health
    The Sector Skills Council (SSC) for the UK health sector.

Finding a job or employer in this sector

  • NHS Profile Pools
    Log into NHS jobs, set up your 'Jobs by e-mail' searches and then use the 'Your Profiles' link to register your details with your local Newly Qualified Profile Pool - there's one for each SHA region in England. You'll start to receive details of NHS job opportunities as soon as they are advertised, and your local SHA will provide you with additional support including information about job opportunities outside of the NHS, additional career support available and other local information to help your job search.

Local health organisations

  • Brighton and Sussex Universities Hospitals NHS Trust
    Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals (BSUH) is an acute teaching hospital working across two sites: the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton and the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath.
  • East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust
    Providing acute hospital and community health services for people living in East Sussex and surrounding areas. Services are mainly provided from two district general hospitals, Conquest Hospital and Eastbourne DGH.
  • Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
    Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust provides emergency and non-emergency services to the residents of East Surrey, north-east West Sussex, and South Croydon, including the major towns of Crawley, Horsham, Reigate and Redhill.
  • Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust
    Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of around 450,000 people who live in a catchment area covering most of West Sussex.

National recruitment sources

  • British Nursing News Online
    A digest of news stories relating to the nursing profession and its employees.
  • Greathealthcare.co.uk
    For medical, nursing and healthcare jobs.
  • Health Service Journal
    Sector news stories and job vacancies.
  • Just For Nurses
    Sector news, case studies and job vacancies.
  • MedrekUK
    Recruitment site covering the UK and Northern Europe.
  • NHS Jobs
    NHS Jobs is the dedicated online recruitment service for the NHS. Every NHS trust in England and Wales advertises job opportunities with NHS Jobs, resulting in around 20,000 opportunities available every month.
  • Nurserve
    Nurserve is a nurses job and information website for nurses seeking employment and general nursing assistance.
  • NursingNetUK
    National jobs and courses database.
  • Nursing Times
    Nursing Times remains the UK's leading independent weekly magazine for nurses. Available in hard copy at Falmer library.
  • PracticeNursing.co.uk
    Browse vacancies and post your CV.
  • Royal College of Midwives Journal
    The RCM journal and website contains up-to-date information on on good practice in midwifery, careers advice and information on the Royal College of Midwives.
  • Staff Nurse.com
    Browse current vacancies and add your CV to their searchable database.

Further Information and useful links

Nursing/midwifery

Regional organisations

Professional Health Organisations

  • Department of Health
    The Department of Health provides strategic leadership for public health, the NHS and social care in England.
  • Institute of Healthcare Management
    IHM Institute's purpose is 'To enhance and promote high standards of professional health and care management in order to improve health and healthcare for the benefit of public'.
  • National Health Service (NHS)
    The NHS is the largest healthcare provider in the UK, offering emergency and urgent care, general practitioners (GPs), hospital and community based services and much more.

Key points

  • The health sector employs approximately two million people across the UK.
  • As a nurse it is possible to work in, among others, hospitals, GP surgeries, clinics, nursing and residential homes, occupational health services, voluntary organisations that run hospices or residential care and the pharmaceutical industry.
  • Midwives are often the key health professional supporting, guiding and caring for the mother, baby and family during and after pregnancy

Resources