You can apply to do a Community Nurse Specialist Practitioner or Specialist Community Public Health Nurse Level 7 Professional Apprenticeship, if you're already a registered nurse.

This can take between 2 and 3 years to complete.

Entry requirements

Employers will set their own entry requirements.

You can become a community matron by doing professional development training with your employer.

You'll need to be a registered nurse in any branch, or a registered health professional, for example a speech and language therapist.

You'll also need:

• to get a postgraduate master's qualification
• specialist knowledge of different nursing procedures and practice
• knowledge of long-term health conditions and treatments
• experience of managing a team

Find out more about how you can develop your nursing career through the NHS Leadership Academy.

You can apply directly if you're a registered nurse or health professional and have between 3 and 5 years' post-registration experience.

You might also need:

• a degree or postgraduate diploma in community practice, specialising in district nursing, health visiting or practice nursing
• a relevant teaching or mentoring qualification
• a nurse prescribing qualification

You'll need:

• customer service skills
• the ability to work well with others
• the ability to use your initiative
• to be flexible and open to change
• sensitivity and understanding
• to enjoy working with other people
• the ability to come up with new ways of doing things
• knowledge of teaching and the ability to design courses
• to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

You'll need to:

• pass enhanced background checks

In this role you could:

• carry out physical examinations and treatments
• manage the care patients receive and refer to a specialist if needed
• identify when a patient can be cared for at home and organise extra support
• teach patients, carers and relatives to spot changes that could lead to conditions getting worse
• keep records and make sure policy guidelines are followed

You could work at a hospice, in a prison, at an adult care home, at a client's home or in an NHS or private hospital.

Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding.