Nursing professionals

How to become a registered specialist nurse

Official title: Registered specialist nurses

Also called: Itu nurse, Scrub nurse, Theatre nurse, Nurse consultant, Specialist nurse, Nurse specialist, Safeguarding nurse, Intensive care nurse, Infection control nurse, Operating theatre nurse, Clinical specialist nurse, Diabetes specialist nurse

Registered specialist nurses provide specialised nursing care and plan ongoing treatment for the sick, injured and others in need of care, take responsibility for patients within their sphere of practice and assist medical doctors with their tasks, work with other healthcare professionals and within teams of healthcare workers. They advise on and teach nursing practices.

Main tasks

Provides specialist care in their area of expertise, assesses patients, determines treatments and conducts a variety of medical procedures
Consults with and provides guidance to other nurses and healthcare professionals within their specialism
Gives consultations with patients and their families to explain a patient's condition and possible treatments
Plans duty rotas and organises and directs the work and training of ward and theatre nursing staff
Advises on nursing care, disease prevention, nutrition, etc. and liaises with hospital board/management on issues concerning nursing policy
Plans, manages, provides and evaluates nursing care services for patients, supervises the implementation of nursing care plans
Delivers lectures, and other forms of formal training relating to nursing practice

How to become one

A degree or equivalent qualification is required as well as significant relevant experience. Courses comprise both theoretical and practical work, including placements in hospital and community settings. Full time diploma courses last three years; degree courses last three or four years. Accelerated programmes are available to graduates with a health-related degree. Post-registration training is available for a range of clinical specialisms.

Ways in

University: Nursing & Midwifery degrees, Offered by 16 universities in the UK

Pay · Outlook

Median full-time pay: £45,140 a year The middle half earn £39,340 to £52,644.
About 92,500 people work in this job now, and about 101,400 are projected by 2035. (+9.6%)

Questions people ask

How do I become a registered specialist nurse?

How much does a registered specialist nurse earn in the UK?

Median full-time pay is £45,140 a year (Office for National Statistics). The middle half earn £39,340 to £52,644.

Is a registered specialist nurse a growing career in the UK?

Yes. Employment is projected to grow 10% by 2035, from about 92,500 to about 101,400 people (Department for Education).

Do you need a degree to become a registered specialist nurse?

Usually. 74% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Sources

Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
Department for Education: Skills Imperative 2035: employment projections by occupation (2021 to 2035 (Warwick IER / Cambridge Econometrics)), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (2025 provisional), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

Graduate outcomes: Discover Uni dataset, HESA (www.hesa.ac.uk), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Aggregated by subject and adapted by Peernovo.