The demand for skilled Nurses continues to rise worldwide, and the World Health Organisation estimates a global shortage of 4.5 million Nurses by 2030, with the most significant gaps in Africa, South-East Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean. For those starting in Healthcare or already working on the front line, the right Nursing courses can lead to new opportunities, higher pay, and faster career progression.
Alison offers an extensive catalogue of free online Nursing courses, as well as learning programmes covering broader Health-related subjects, designed to support everyone from new Nursing Assistants to experienced Registered Nurses looking to specialise. All Alison courses are created and published through a CPD-UK-accredited process, ensuring learning content meets recognised continuing professional development standards.
Why Nursing Professionals Need Continuous Upskilling
Like all other industries, healthcare changes constantly. New medications, updated clinical guidelines and evolving technologies all affect how Nurses assess, treat, and educate patients. Basic life support algorithms, infection-control standards, and documentation expectations are regularly updated internationally. These constant changes require healthcare workers to continuously learn, relearn, and unlearn relevant workplace skills to ensure they deliver safe, up-to-date care.
Alison’s Nursing courses are designed to support continuous upskilling in a fast-changing healthcare environment. They help healthcare workers and those exploring a future in Nursing strengthen their understanding of updated care standards, evolving practices, and specialised care settings, without replacing formal qualifications or clinical training. These courses are well-suited to refreshing existing knowledge, exploring areas of professional interest, and building confidence in non-clinical skills such as communication, ethics, leadership, and patient-centred care. Delivered in a flexible, self-paced format, Alison’s Nursing courses fit around shift work and study commitments, making it easier to stay informed and reflective within your current scope of practice.
Types of Nursing Courses You Can Take Online
Online courses support many areas of Nursing, from core knowledge to specialised topics. Here are some of the course types Alison offers.
Clinical Skills Courses
Clinical skills courses focus on patient care knowledge and core clinical concepts that support understanding of care delivery in healthcare settings:
- Essentials of Patient Care Coordination: You will learn the essentials of patient care coordination and patient assessment.
- Fundamentals of Burns and Plastic Surgery Care: This course equips you with essential skills, from burn classification to advanced care and cutting-edge reconstructive techniques.
Leadership And Management Courses
If you see yourself moving into a management role, leadership-focused Nursing courses can help you build knowledge around:
- Diploma in Nursing Leadership and Care Management: You will learn the skills and approaches used by nurse leaders to improve healthcare delivery.
- Coaching and Mentoring in Healthcare: Completing this course will enable you to guide others towards making better decisions that improve the quality of care and health systems.
Palliative Care Courses
Palliative care courses support Nurses working in oncology, geriatrics, hospice, and home care environments where complex, long-term conditions are common:
- Pain Care Nursing: This course will help you understand the specific needs of different age groups as you explore the philosophy and principles that guide palliative care.
- End-of-Life and Palliative Care: This course teaches you how to supply quality care to those who are suffering in the grip of illness or are approaching the end of their lives.
Infectious Diseases Courses
Infection prevention courses are beneficial for Nurses in emergency, laboratory, surgical, and public health settings:
- Health and Safety Well-being – Infectious Diseases: With this course, you will explore how microorganisms are transmitted and what interventions can be taken to prevent their transmission.
- Infection Control in Health Care: Here you will learn about infection control and standard precautions for healthcare providers.
Mental Health Courses
Mental health courses build understanding of psychological wellbeing and mental illness across a wide range of healthcare and community settings, not only specialist psychiatric care.
- Diploma in Mental Health: Here you will learn about the causes, symptoms and treatments of various forms of mental health issues, and you will begin to understand how to preserve your own mental health and even help those around you.
- Supporting Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities and Mental Illness: This course will teach you the four guiding principles of support work and how the strengths and resources of clients and their communities are involved in the care process.
Top Free Certified Nursing Courses on Alison (Start Learning Today)
Alison offers a range of free certified Nursing and healthcare courses designed to support ongoing learning, skill refreshment, and career development. This includes selected courses delivered in partnership with the National Health Care Provider Solutions (NHCPS), a trusted provider of certification-based training aligned with internationally recognised care standards.
These courses support continuing professional development and knowledge-building, rather than replacing formal clinical qualifications.
Here are seven high-impact, free certified Nursing courses on Alison you can start right away:
1. CPR, AED and First Aid
You’ll explore how CPR, AED use, and basic first aid are applied in emergency situations across different age groups. The focus is on recognising common emergencies and understanding appropriate responses. It’s a good practical option if you want to refresh or build your emergency care knowledge.
Enrol and learn CPR, AED, and first aid for free.
2. Basic Life Support (BLS)
Designed to align with current BLS guidelines (2020–2025), this course focuses on recognising life-threatening emergencies and the structured response steps. You’ll learn about chest compressions, rescue breaths, and core life support principles. This course is particularly relevant if you work in acute or fast-paced care settings.
Take this free Basic Life Support course.
3. Bloodborne Pathogens (BBP)
This course focuses on how bloodborne pathogens are transmitted and how exposure risks are managed in healthcare environments. You’ll look at exposure control plans, standard precautions, and everyday safety practices. If you regularly handle blood, sharps, or specimens, this course is a must.
Learn more about bloodborne pathogens in this free certified course.
4. Advanced Cardiac Life Support
The learning here centres on the stages of advanced cardiac life support, from initial assessment to post-cardiac arrest care. You’ll work through decision-making frameworks used during cardiac emergencies. This course is useful if you want to strengthen your understanding of how these situations are managed in clinical settings.
Enrol and broaden our knowledge of advanced cardiac life support.
5. Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)
With a focus on infants and children, this course explores emergency care concepts specific to paediatric settings. You’ll cover how respiratory distress presents and how response approaches differ for younger patients. This course is well-suited if your role involves paediatric or neonatal care.
Master pediatric advanced life support by enrolling in this free course.
6. ECG Rhythms and Interpretation
This option focuses on understanding and interpreting common ECG rhythms used in clinical practice. You’ll explore rhythm patterns, underlying causes, and how ECG findings are described. It’s a good fit if you want to build confidence in ECG interpretation through ongoing learning.
Gain a better understanding of ECG rhythms and interpretation.
7. First Aid: A Comprehensive Guide to Saving Lives
The emphasis here is on recognising emergencies and understanding how first aid responses are structured. You’ll work through scenarios such as bleeding, burns, fractures, choking, and cardiac events. Helpful if you want to revisit core first aid principles in a clear, practical way.
Take this comprehensive lifesaving course for free.
How to Choose the Right Nursing Courses for Your Career Stage
The most useful Nursing courses are the ones that match where you are in your career and help you move forward with purpose. Rather than taking every available course, focus on Nursing learning that aligns with your experience level and career goals.
If You Are a Beginner or Student
- Foundations of Nursing and Patient Care
- Nursing Studies – Role of Nurse in Surgical Care
- Introduction to Medical Terminology
If You Are a Working Nurse
- Paediatric Nursing Essentials: Skills and Care
- Cerebral Palsy: Causes, Treatment and Rehabilitation
- Kidney Disease Essentials for Nurses
If You Aim to Become a Future Leader
- Diploma in Nursing Leadership and Care Management
- Nursing Studies – The Nurse as Team Leader and Teacher
- Patient Safety and Duty of Care
If You Want to Specialise in a Particular Area
- End-of-Life and Palliative Care
- Mental Health Support Worker Essentials
- Pharmacotherapy: Nervous, Sensory & Genitourinary Systems
Career Paths You Can Explore After Completing Nursing Courses
Online courses can help you explore different career directions, strengthen relevant knowledge, and understand what various roles involve in practice. While they do not qualify you to practise or replace formal training, they can support informed career decisions, professional development, and progression alongside recognised qualifications and workplace experience.
Here are some healthcare-related roles Alison Learners often explore after completing relevant Nursing courses:
- Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA): CNAs support patients with day-to-day care, including mobility, hygiene, feeding, and comfort, while working under the supervision of qualified Nurses. The role is hands-on and patient-facing, often based in hospitals, clinics, or long-term care settings.
- Cosmetic Nurse: Cosmetic Nurses work in clinical or office-based settings, supporting non-invasive aesthetic procedures and client care. The role combines patient communication, safety awareness, and an understanding of cosmetic treatments delivered within regulated healthcare environments.
- Head Nurse: This role involves overseeing patient care delivery, coordinating staff, and ensuring compliance with quality and safety standards within a unit or ward. Responsibilities may also include mentoring junior staff and contributing to training or education activities.
- Mental Health Aide: Mental Health Aides support individuals with mental health needs by assisting with daily activities and providing structured, supervised care. They typically work as part of a wider healthcare or social care team in clinical or community settings.
- Nursing Associate: Nursing Associates work alongside Registered Nurses and healthcare assistants to support patient care. The role helps bridge care responsibilities within a team, contributing to patient monitoring, communication, and routine care tasks.
- Nursing Educator: Nursing Educators focus on teaching, mentoring, and supporting the development of healthcare staff or students. Their work often includes developing learning materials, delivering training, and promoting safe, ethical care practices.
- Orderly: Orderlies assist with patient movement, comfort, and basic care needs within healthcare facilities. The role plays an important part in supporting daily operations and ensuring patients feel safe and supported.
- Travel Nurse: Travel Nurses work in short-term placements across different healthcare settings, adapting to new teams and care environments. The role involves applying established Nursing skills while responding to varying workplace needs and standards.
Start Accelerating Your Nursing Career Today
If you’re looking to upskill without stepping away from work, flexible online learning can help you build knowledge at your own pace. Alison’s free Nursing and Health & Medicine courses let you focus on the areas that matter most to your current role or future plans, with options organised by topic and level.
A simple way to approach your learning might be to:
- Start with core knowledge, such as CPR, AED, First Aid, and Basic Life Support (BLS), which are relevant across many healthcare settings.
- Strengthen your foundation with broader programmes like the Diploma in Nursing and Patient Care or the Diploma in Nursing Assistant Fundamentals and Patient Care.
- Explore areas you’re curious about, including wound management, mental health, infection control, or leadership.
All Alison courses are created through a CPD-UK-accredited publishing process, with selected healthcare courses developed in partnership with the National Health Care Provider Solutions (NHCPS). Certificates reflect structured learning that supports professional development alongside formal training and experience.
