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Resources and Learning Activities for Healthcare Science Support Worker Education and Development

HCSW Education and Development Career Framework webinar

We hosted a webinar on Friday 30th August which provided an overview of how the HCSW Education and Development Career Framework Levels 2-4 is structured around the 4 pillars of practice. It explained the pillars of practice, gave an overview of available resources which can support learning, development and career progression, and also presented case studies and scenarios from our NMAHP colleagues which are transferrable in Healthcare Science.
 
You can access video recordings (with closed captions and transcripts) of all of the presentations from the webinar on our Past Webinars page on Turas Learn.
 

Four pillars of practice toolkit - NEW RESOURCE!

The four pillars of practice toolkit is a resource to provide you with an overview to support your knowledge and understanding of how the HCSW 4 pillars of practice can be used to support your ongoing professional and career development. It is a flexible resource which can be used for self-directed learning or as part of taught training provision. It can be used to support existing learning programmes or activities, or used in its entirety to plan specific programmes depending on local or individual needs.

Our Healthcare Science support worker: Four Pillars of practice toolkit is available by clicking on the following link to access the Sway document.

Learning activities to support each pillar of practice

The learning activities available on Turas Learn covering the 4 pillars of practice are designed to support your learning through self-study, reflection or taught sessions. You will be introduced to the key principles and concepts of learning and explore the learning opportunities in your workplace. Click on the following links to access them:

Learning activities to support each pillar of practice

Framework reflective self-assessment tool

The reflective self-assessment tool is designed to help you evaluate the knowledge, skills, and behaviours (KSBs) outlined in the Framework for your level of practice. It encourages reflection on your job role, helping you to identify areas for growth, and opportunities for further development.    
If you are new to reflection, there is a helpful guidance section with tips and activities to support you.
How to use the tool
Once completed, the tool can be used to support reflective discussions and professional development planning with your manager. For those at an advanced level, it can also help provide evidence of competence and support sign-off locally. 
You can download and save the tool to input directly into the document or print it to write your responses by hand. The tool will take about an hour or more to complete. 
The Reflective self-assessment tool is available to download in this LINK

Interactive CPD Resource Tool

You can find various CPD resources for each of the four pillars of practice with learning activities that can support your personal development. Why not try these out, you can dip in and out and there is no need to complete all the activities, just choose the ones which best suit you.

Please use the interactive tool below to identify appropriate CPD resources by firstly selecting what Development Framework Level (2-4) you currently are and then what Pillar of Practice you want to develop. You should then be presented with an appropriate list of relevant courses on the right-hand side.

We have chosen the resources which are appropriate for all support worker staff who work within Healthcare Science, and this tool can also be used by managers, team/service leads, educators and anyone involved in supporting the learning and development of support workforce staff.

Further Resources

HCSW Impact Survey 2024

Purpose of this survey
The survey MS Form is used to collect feedback from stakeholders and we can use the responses to help to improve services and resources offered by NES. We value your feedback and participation in completing this form. 
To participate in the completion of this MS form via the link at HCSW Impact Survey 2024 
Closing date is January 20th 2024

Last updated: March 27, 2025