Becoming a nurse

Community health and care assistants (ASSCs) and nurses work closely with patients, but their responsibilities and levels of autonomy differ.

The Community Health and Care Assistant (ASSC) provides basic care, supports patients with activities of daily living or whilst they are ill, and carries out certain medical procedures under delegated authority. Find out more about the role ofASSC and the ASSC training programme on the School of Community Care and Health website.

Nurses provide more complex care and are also required to assess health situations, plan care, make clinical decisions and ensure the overall management of patients. The HES nursing programme leads to a Bachelor’s degree and prepares students for a profession involving significant responsibility, with opportunities for career progression in clinical practice, management, research, teaching or advanced practice.

Care assistants (ASA) and nurses both contribute to patients’ wellbeing, but their roles, responsibilities and levels of training differ.

The ASA primarily provides basic care and assists people with activities of daily living, under the supervision of nursing staff. They also take part in support, care and domestic activities, working mainly alongside community health and care assistants (ASSCs), social and educational assistants and domestic care managers. Find out more about the profession ofASSC and the ASA training programme on the website of the School of Nursing and Community Health.

Nurses provide more complex care and are also required to assess health situations, plan care, make clinical decisions and ensure the overall management of patients. The HES nursing programme leads to a Bachelor’s degree and prepares students for a profession involving significant responsibility, with opportunities for career progression in clinical practice, management, research, teaching or advanced practice.

Both ES (École supérieure) and HES (Haute école spécialisée) courses qualify graduates to practise as nurses. The main difference lies in the level of the qualification and the career prospects.

The ES programme is heavily practice-oriented and enables students to acquire the technical skills required to practise nursing.

The HES programme leads to a Bachelor’s degree and is recognised at university level. It enables students to acquire all the technical skills and go beyond them, including research, the analysis of nursing practices and the development of other skills such as project management. It also enables students to progress to postgraduate studies (CAS, DAS, MAS, Master’s) and to gain access to roles or institutions that require a University of Applied Sciences (HES) qualification.