How to become a nursing associate professional
Official title: Nursing associate professionals
Also called: Assistant nurse, Associate professional nurse, Enrolled nurse, Practical nurse
Nursing associate professionals provide basic nursing and personal care for people in need of such care due to effects of ageing, illness, injury, or other physical or mental impairment. They generally work under the supervision of, and in support of, implementation of health care, treatment and referrals plans established by medical, nursing and other health professionals.
Main tasks
- Providing nursing and personal care and treatment and health advice to patients according to care plans established by health professionals
- Administering medications and other treatments to patients, monitoring patients’ condition and responses to treatment, and referring patients and their families to a health professional for specialized care as needed
- Cleaning wounds and applying surgical dressings
- Updating information on patients’ condition and treatments received in record-keeping systems
- Assisting in planning and managing the care of individual patients
- Assisting in giving first-aid treatment in emergencies
Ways in
- Licence or registration: Registering body: Nursing Council of Hong Kong. Law: Nurses Registration Ordinance (護士註冊條例), Cap. 164. Summary by Peernovo; check the body's current rules.
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Median pay: HK$27,000 a month
- About 1,542,900 people in 2025, and about 1,639,100 projected by 2028. (+6.2%)
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Related jobs
Not sure this is for you? Take the 2-minute career quiz
Questions people ask
Do you need a degree to become a nursing associate professional?
Not always. 35% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Will AI change the work of a nursing associate professional?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Census and Statistics Department (2021 Population Census): 2021 Population Census, Interactive Data Dissemination Service: working population by occupation (38 groups) and sex, age, education, income; median income and field of education (9 groups) (2021 Population Census), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Census and Statistics Department (General Household Survey): Median monthly employment earnings by occupation (9 groups), excluding foreign domestic helpers (Table 210-06317A); employed persons by occupation, age and sex (210-06307A) and by industry (210-06308A) (2025 annual (series to 2026-07)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Labour and Welfare Bureau; tables published by C&SD: Mid-term Update of Manpower Projection to 2028: supplementary statistical tables (5 occupation groups, 17 selected industries) (2025 to 2028 (published 2026-09)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Updated 4 October 2026