Assistant Practitioners in the NHS in England

A UK survey exploring the assistant practitioner role across diagnostic imaging: current practice, relationships and challenges to progression

“…AP training routes were seen to vary across imaging modalities, consistent with other reviews of AP curricula. 15,[33][34][35][36] Such variation appears to be inhibiting some from academic and career progression and this is likely to only be exacerbated by the development of Higher Level and Degree apprenticeships. Whether the new apprenticeships will have any influence on career progression opportunities for APs is as yet unclear.…”

UK consensus on non-medical staffing required to deliver safe, quality-assured care for adult patients undergoing gastrointestinal endoscopy

“…Serious consideration should be given to developing unregistered staff undertaking such roles to the level of assistant practitioner. This will necessitate formal education such as that provided by the level 5 diploma for assistant practitioners in healthcare 32…”

The role of the assistant practitioner in the clinical setting: a focus group study

“…The AP role is cross-disciplinary, rather than nursing specific [ 4 ] with APs working in a variety of settings including general practice [ 5 ], critical care [ 6 ] perioperative practice [ 7 , 8 ] radiography [ 9 ] and social care [ 10 ]. Whilst the role has the potential for adoption in many settings, evidence suggests that APs are most prevalent in areas where funding is available for them, rather than in areas where a need for them has been identified [ 11 ].…”

“…Studies have also found a lack of consistent terminology when describing the AP role, with the terms ‘assistant’ and ‘associate’ practitioner often used inter-changeably [ 16 ]. Similarly, Miller et al (2015) found 15 different terms to describe the role [ 11 ].…”