Why You Should Make a Nursing Career Change to Care Home Nursing

What do you think of when you hear the word "nurse?" Probably a person who is selfless and kind, who cares for others with compassion and respect.

Why You Should Make a Nursing Career Change to Care Home Nursing

A nurse spends their days helping people feel better and heal from illness or injury. They work hard to improve the quality of life for many individuals, often doing more than what's expected of them.

But there are different types of nurses: hospital nurses, pediatric nurses, mental health nurses, advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), etc. And some professions offer more opportunities than others. For example, as an RN at a care home facility your responsibilities will be less demanding on average than those in other settings such as hospitals or schools. You'll also have more time to yourself, which means you'll have a greater opportunity to balance your work life with your family life.

Let's face it - being a nurse can be hard work. You may find that sometimes your shift goes by in a blur of activity and you're not sure exactly what all you did. The demands of shift work can take their toll over time. Low pay, long hours and difficult working conditions can affect your physical and mental health. This is a heavy burden to bear for people who enjoy helping others.

You might be thinking about making a switch in your nursing career, wondering if care home nursing is right for you. If so, consider the following three benefits of this type of work.

Benefits of Care Home Nursing

More time off

You'll have more weekends and evenings free, giving you an opportunity for a break from medical care. Also, the norm is usually only 12-hour shifts, which means no back-to-back 12-hour shifts.

Shorter hours

If you're currently working in a hospital, you'll know that nurses often work over 60 hours per week. At the very least, your shifts are rarely less than 12 hours long. But at a care home facility, there is normally no rotating shift work. This means you won't be working every day, every weekend. Also, the hours are shorter overall. For example, you might work six-hour shifts during the day rather than 12 hour shifts at night.

Less stressful

Working in care homes means you'll spend more time with your patients and less time rushing between different rooms or buildings. You'll also have fewer residents to look after on average compared to working in a hospital or school. All of this means you'll have more time to sit down with a patient, talk and listen as needed. You'll be able to provide better care for everyone by giving them the attention they deserve.

Learning New Skills

Nurses are skilled professionals who help people regain wellness and lead fulfilling lives. They use a variety of skills, including technical skills, to provide medical care for patients. Here are some of the skills that nurses develop to be successful in their work.

They must have good judgment and decision-making abilities. This means they need to quickly assess a situation and determine what type of action needs to be taken. They also need good planning skills because they may need to organize the implementation of their plan before carrying it out.

Nurses also have good interpersonal skills so they can effectively interact with patients, families, colleagues, physicians, and other people in health care professions.

As you can see, care home nursing is a good choice for those who want to stay in the medical profession but need a greater work-life balance. The pay is better than average and you'll have less stress thanks to shorter hours and more time off. And you'll have the opportunity to learn new skills -although you'll still use many of the skills you've already developed in other settings.

If you're looking for more job security, consider care home nursing. The demand for qualified nurses at care facilities is increasing due to longer life expectancy and the need to provide long-term medical care for an aging population. You could even advance your career by becoming a Manager or Deputy.

Better interactions with the residents

Nursing isn't just about delivering care to patients. It's also about getting to know residents on a more personal level, helping them regain wellness and lead fulfilling lives. As a care home nurse, you'll find that there are many advantages to this type of work including better pay, shorter hours and more time off. These factors can make it much easier to stay committed to your career without feeling burned out or overworked. If you're looking for more job security, consider care home nursing. The demand for qualified nurses at care facilities is increasing due to longer life expectancy and the need to provide long-term medical care for an aging population. You could even advance your career by becoming a Manager or Deputy.

Career development

Nurses have a wide range of possibilities in terms of career development. Care home nurses could choose to work towards a management position, teaching future nursing students or staying in their own field and becoming a nurse practitioner. This means they'll have more authority when it comes to certain health care decisions and be able to diagnose patients when necessary. There are many possibilities when it comes to nursing career development.

What are Nursing Homes Like to Work In?

Every care home is different. Some might be similar to regular homes while others will look like large hospitals. When you're looking for work in this industry, consider the location of the facility and whether or not it would be a good fit for you personally. You'll want to talk with current staff that are employed there to get their input on the working environment and the way that they feel about their jobs.

This is important since residents of care homes often need more intense medical care than those in private residences. Nurses often have to administer medications as well as provide wound care, dressing changes and other treatments. In some cases, this can be difficult if a resident isn't cooperative or even dangerous.

Summary

Nursing is not just about delivering care to patients, but getting to know them on a personal level. As a care home nurse, you'll find that there are many advantages to this type of work including better pay, shorter hours and more time off. These factors can make it much easier to stay committed for your career without feeling burned out or overworked. Get the rest you need with care home nursing!    What are nursing homes like? They come in all shapes and sizes- some might be similar to regular homes while others will look like large hospitals. When interviewing for jobs at these facilities, consider what other nurses have told you about their experiences working there as well as how close the facility is located by where you live.

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Resources

Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN)

The Elements of Good Judgment

Ageing and health

Improving Diagnosis in Health Care: The Diagnostic Process

Over a million more health and care staff needed in the next decade to meet growing demand for care

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Emma Clarke

About Emma Clarke, RN

Emma Clarke has 2 years experience as a RN and specializes in 2 years as a carer.

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Specializes in Advanced Practice, surgery.

I would say this sounds like a very different experience to the care homes in my region.  In my experience the RN to patient ratio is 1 : 25 or 30 residents, recruitment is an issue with reliance on high numbers of agency nurses to cover shifts meaning those lovely days off, as with hospital nursing are plagued with phone calls to cover gaps.   

Time spent with residents is minimal with mounds of paperwork,  inspection and reviews and the registrants are reliant on the unregistered stage to deliver care.  

Yes hospital nursing is hard but the grass isn't always greener 

 

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Specializes in ER.

That seems a rather strange account of nursing homes.

There are still the same number of hours in a week, and most nurses work either 8 or 12 hour shifts.

There can be major issues with obtaining prescriptions as there is no doctor on site, and you can waste a lot of time trying to contact them. Some facilities do have better systems than others, but in many you will be calling the GP on the public number, same as everyone else, and waiting to get past the robot or the receptionist.

And there is no 'next door ward' to borrow or steal dressings or supplies from. When its gone, its gone. And its frustrating to identify a clinical need and not have the resources to address it. Try requesting a pressure relieving mattress, a hoist or a VAC dressing and see how far you get!

Care homes have district nurse support, but nursing homes rarely do as they have more RNs on the staff. So the nursing home is only as good as the nurses, and many will not have had specialist training in wound care and chronic disease management. As a DN I saw some ridiculous bandaging techniques on some care home residents, and nobody there was interested in improving their skills.

There is no real career path in care home nursing unless you want to go down the managerial route, working towards a desk job at a regional office. It works for many nurses as the location or hours work for their childcare situation and/or they want time out from the pressure of acute care. Many of the staff are overseas nurses, and their first job in the UK is in a nursing home, until they get all their ducks in a row and can be employed by an NHS Trust. Most homes do not have the funding resources to send staff on training, other than the mandatory basics. Try asking a nursing home to fund your BSc and see what happens!

 

I'm sure its a great option for many nurses at some point in their career.

But its not for everyone, and its not forever.

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Specializes in Psyche Nursing, Med/Surg, LTAC.

You keep using the term "care home." Is that the same as a nursing home?

"Better pay, shorter hours and more time off"?? Where? 

I have worked in 5 different nursing homes during my career from CNA to LPN to RN. The staff/patient ratio was usually 1 nurse/15-25 patients, depending on floor acuity. The CNAs were taking care of anywhere between 6-12 patients each-assisting, dressing, bathing, toileting. Each nurse was responsible for all the medications and treatments for one hall of patients. It was extremely busy and if one person called in there was no float staff to cover, so everyone else worked harder. It WAS rewarding-I loved my patients-but "better work/life balance" was not one of the benefits. It was at least as hard as hospital nursing with less supplies and less medical support. 

  

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
10 hours ago, NurseScribe said:

You keep using the term "care home." Is that the same as a nursing home?

 "Better pay, shorter hours and more time off"?? Where? 

OP is from the UK, so I’m sure there’s different terminology and experiences. 

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Specializes in ER.

Nursing home is pretty much as per your description.

Care Homes generally have only one nurse, and the direct care is done by CNAs. Any nursing input is done by visiting district nurses, (home health).

They have a lower acuity, hence the care input rather than nursing input.

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