In contrast to the stereotype that care home nursing is ‘deskilling’ and harder work, working in a care home can actually be very a fulfilling career path with many benefits. If you're considering a shift in your career, working in a care home may prove to be a satisfying job with good long-term prospects.
Care home staff have unique skills that enable them to provide consistent, individualised care and support to residents in a home environment.
Working in a care home is similar to working in an acute medical ward in the NHS. In an acute medical or geriatric nursing ward most of the patients are elderly, have dementia or confused and are brought to hospital for brief treatment.
If you want to know what it’s like working in a care home – you can go to the NHS geriatric ward, and you will get an idea.
Working in a care home gives you value for your time. Carers in a care home are paid more than top band 5 NHS staff, and sometimes as high as band 6 - depending on your skills and experience.
When working at a care home, you can decide which shifts you want. You can speak to the nurse in charge about your weekend or off-day preferences. If you have a family/ partner, your shifts will usually be more accommodating. Often, they use your partners schedule to plan your roster which can be very beneficial.
For the most part when working in a care home, you are in charge of your shifts. You are given much more autonomy in decision making to serve the best interest of your patients. No doctor, no matron or clinical lead - you are the one leading the shift and telling people what to do. Using your critical analysis skills will help you become an effective leader - you will be able to spot things that need to be done, think ahead and make prompt decision at the right time.
You will write a lot! From care plans to risk assessments and auditing – it all comes down to written English. This will give you more practice and control over your written English skills. Care plans are detailed and spells out the entire life of a patient. It’s written in such a way that you will be able to see a reflection of the person based on the care plan.
There are a lot of monetary benefits that you will get from working in a private care home.
The bigger companies may have many branches, and there will be a lot of benefits when you join. For example, CQC inspection bonus: When the company receives an ‘Outstanding’ rating, each member receives £500 as a gift voucher. If the rating is ‘Good’, each member can get a £100 voucher.
At the end of the year if the company does well/ makes profit, they can decide to share that with the staff. This called the profit sharing scheme. Based on your input and hours worked, you can be awarded £700 in addition to your salary.
Some companies may even pay for your NMC pin renewal every year. You don’t even need to think about renewing it or going to pay for it, because the company will sort it out for you.
Receive higher holiday pay! Annual leave is paid differently – it’s an incentive for you to look after your mental health, to rest/recover and come back refreshed. You also have the option to sell your holidays and you are paid 2 or 3x more than your regular salary.
Nursing can be financially rewarding – depending on where you decide to work.
While working at some care homes, you will have access to their intranet with vast learning pools. Some of the training can help sharpen you into becoming a manager, clinical lead or nurse in charge. Sometimes you can get the opportunity to further your education - to be an oncology nurse or advanced nurse practitioner – based on the experience or exposure you are given. This training is all for free and can help you learn, grow as a person and progress professionally.
Most of the time when working in a care home, you are leading the unit or charging the unit, and will be communicating with carers, colleagues, multidisciplinary teams, GP’s, the ambulance, the residents and their families. You will know how to speak to all these peoples because you’re building relationships, trust and friendships. This can also help you view things in a wider perspective and help you know when to use your verbal and non-verbal communication.
At a care home, you are not working too much to make the money you are supposed to make. In comparison to the NHS, you can make money a lot quicker in a care home. This means you will be more financially stable and can decide to have more off days to travel or take a break when you need one. You are more flexible, less burnt out and will have the time and energy to do things that make you happy.
Working in home care can be challenging and emotionally involving, but it’s also extremely rewarding. Care homes are not for everyone, and neither is the NHS – it’s about finding your way, where your passion lies and what your long-term goals are.
If you’re interested in making a difference to people’s lives, have genuine compassion for the elderly, and want a job that will give you value for your time, find out how you can join our team today.
Resources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mGInoJUF5U
https://uk.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/why-work-in-a-care-home