SSHA

Society of Sexual Health Advisers

Unite the union
  • About us
    • JOIN SSHA
    • Code of Professional Conduct
    • National Organising Professional Committee
    • National Organising Professional Committee Structure
    • Constitution and Rules
    • Council Reports
    • NPC ACCESS ONLY
  • News
  • Regions
    • London
    • North East, Yorkshire & Humberside
    • Ireland
    • Scotland
    • South West
    • East Midlands – VACANT
    • North West
    • South East
    • Wales
    • West Midlands
  • Resources
    • I Want To Be A Health Adviser
    • SSHA Manual
    • Conference Presentations
    • Competency Framework for Sexual Health Advisers
    • WeSSI: West Sussex Sexual Health Structured Interview
    • Research
    • Unite – Union
    • Publications
  • Jobs
    • Current Jobs
    • Sample Job Descriptions
  • Links
Home » Resources » I Want To Be A Health Adviser

I Want To Be A Health Adviser

Information from The National Careers Service

Job profiles

Sexual Health Adviser

If you have knowledge of sexual health issues and want to use your communication skills to help people maintain good sexual health, this job could be for you.

Sexual health advisers provide information, advice and counselling to patients diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection (STI). They play a key role in helping the patient understand and manage their condition.

In this job you will need a non-judgemental approach. Your ability to network with a range of public, private and voluntary organisations will also be important.

You will usually need experience in nursing, health visiting, social work or counselling. Some employers may accept you with a degree in a subject such as sociology, health science, public health, health promotion or psychology, if you also have relevant experience in a health care setting.

The work

Sexual health advisers provide information, advice and counselling to patients diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection (STI). They play a key role in helping the patient understand and manage their condition.

As a sexual health adviser, you would work with individuals and groups affected by sexual health issues in general and STIs (including HIV) in particular. An important part of your work would be to offer advice to help prevent and minimise the risks of infection.

Your exact duties could vary greatly between clinics, but you would typically be involved with:

  • advising patients on precautions to take with current partners
  • tracing and contacting previous partners who may have been exposed to the STI
  • promoting good sexual health practices
  • counselling patients
  • teaching and training
  • carrying out research
  • compiling local statistics
  • keeping up to date with the latest health research and policies.
  • You could also be involved in the national screening programme for chlamydia infection.

Hours

In a full-time job in the NHS, you would generally work 37.5 hours a week. Part-time posts are often available.

You would normally be based in a genito-urinary medicine (GUM) or sexual health clinic, although there may be some outreach work involved.

Income

Sexual health adviser can earn between around £25,000 and £33,500 a year.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Entry requirements

You will usually need experience in nursing, health visiting, social work or counselling. Some employers may accept you with a degree in a subject such as sociology, health science, public health, health promotion or psychology, if you also have relevant experience in a health care setting.

Many people become interested in this work (and gain relevant experience) by choosing study options and arranging work placements related to sexual health whilst training, for example to become a nurse or social worker. Check the related profiles for details of routes into these and other health-related careers.

Whatever your background, you will often need:

  • experience in a health care environment
  • recognised counselling training, skills and practice
  • knowledge of STIs, HIV and related sexual health issues
  • competence in health education and promotion.
  • You may also need (or at least benefit from) qualifications in subjects such as health promotion (for example, the RSPH Level 2
  • Award in Health Promotion); teaching, assessing and mentoring; sexual health care (like the STI Foundation course run by the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH)).
  • RSPH (Royal Society for Public Health)
  • British Association for Sexual Health and HIV If you are a qualified nurse, you may be able to prepare for this work by taking the sexual health advising options within a Specialist Community Public Health Nursing Programme.

Training and development

Any in-service training you might need will vary depending on your professional background and experience.

As a qualified nurse working in sexual health advice, you may be able to take postgraduate training at a university, possibly through the Specialist Community Public Health Nursing Programme.

Several local Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) offer relevant courses in sexual health issues, treatments and counselling skills through their sexual health training teams. The BASHH website and Society of Sexual Health Advisers have further information and advice on training courses, conferences and networking opportunities.

Skills and knowledge

To be a sexual health adviser you should have:

  • an in-depth understanding of sexual health issues
  • good spoken and written communication skills
  • a non-judgemental approach to care
  • good organisational and time management skills
  • the ability to network with a range of organisations (public, private and voluntary)
  • project management skills
  • good research and analytical skills
  • self-motivation
  • tact and empathy
  • respect for confidentiality.

Opportunities

Jobs may be advertised in the press, health service journals, directly through NHS Trusts (see the NHS Choices website for a list of trusts) and on the NHS Jobs website.

With experience, you could progress to senior sexual health adviser. There may also be opportunities to move into a sexual health lead role for a community Primary Care Trust, implementing the National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV at a local level.

Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework  there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.

_____________________________

Also checkout

  • http://www.ssha.info/sexual-health-adviser-the-developing-role-3/

About SSHA

The Society of Sexual Health Advisers (SSHA) is a UK national organisation with approximately 300 members out of an estimated 350 sexual health advisers in the country. It provides an opportunity for members to meet and work towards further professional development.

Recent Posts

  • Helping People to Reduce Sexual Health Risk: A Motivational Interviewing Approach February 28, 2023

Useful Links

  • BASHH
  • HPV Action
  • NAM
  • Public Health England
  • Public Health Scotland
  • Terence Higgins Trust
  • UNITE the Union

Copyright © 2023 · SSHA - Society of Sexual Health Advisers

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT