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Myths about aged care nurses busted
It’s commonly thought that working as an aged care nurse comes with certain stereotypes.
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It’s commonly thought that working as an aged care nurse comes with certain stereotypes.
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Unfortunately there is still an apathy towards Aged Care Nursing. As an Aged Care Provider, we often have RN students on placement with us. On many occasions, the students have told us they were worried about an Aged Care placement as talk around the campus, including from lecturers was that Aged Care was indeed the “last stop” in their career.
I find this very frustrating, misleading and also damaging to providers who are already combating the waves of negative media, and regulators who continually pay lip service to the REAL needs of providers and older Australians.
Nurses, both EN and RN play pivotal roles in the day to day care of residents. Many residents have complex needs and nurses are front and centre in conjunction with a multidisciplinary team in creating and managing a care pathway for each person.
Clinical decision making must be of a very high standard. In addition, our nurses love the fact they get to know their “patients” (residents) many over years of care. Ask an Aged Care nurse if they think caring for a person over the entire course of their journey in Aged Care, and the love and thanks they receive from family members is the most rewarding part of their career, you will hear a resounding YES!!
Commentators need to stop making comments which are ill informed, out-dated or based on nothing more than a prejudice towards a part of the Health Care industry which is just as important as any other…
As a lecturer I am astounded another person in the field would say that. Aged care needs staff with the best assessment skills in the industry. Students should be encouraged to make a decision with an open mind after placement within aged care and time with people who really love their work.
Hi , I actually began my nursing career in an Aged Care hostel and from there I progressed into medical/surgical nursing. I believe it is a very good and practical beginning to nursing and I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to start nursing from any other area. I learnt invaluable and essential nursing skills which have stayed with me and put me in good stead for my nursing career . Assessing patient mobility for instance when attending appropriately to the patients hygiene depends on an accurate assessment of their mobility. Can they sit up? Can they stand? How will I get them to the bathroom? The vast majority of patients I nursed in hospital were elderly. Aged Care is the perfect setting to learn ‘basic ‘ (essential) nursing Care.