Some findings from round 1 of the survey
Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to round 1 of the survey. We
present below some results.
Respondents
We received 163 responses to round 1 of the survey. Just
over 30% of respondents were care home nurses, and a similar number were care
home managers. Several care home nurses were also acting as managers. One in
ten of the respondents were researchers
or nurse educators in higher education. The remainder were health care
professionals working in the community (29%), including GPs, hospice doctors,
elderly care consultants, district nurses, specialist nurses, psychologists,
podiatrists, community mental health nurses and nurse practitioners.
We received responses from all four countries in the UK,
with the majority of responses coming from England.
The nurse in the care home
Almost three quarters (73%) of participants strongly agreed
that registered nurses in care homes need to have a particular set of skills,
knowledge, competence and experience in order to provide high quality care for
older residents.
The three responsibilities of the care home nurse that were
most often ranked as top priority by respondents were:
- Promoting dignity, personhood and wellbeing
- Enhancing quality of life
- Ensuring patient safety
The three continuing professional development (CPD) needs
that were most often given the highest priority by respondents were:
- Personal care (for example nutrition, continence care)
- Dementia care
- Managing long term conditions
Continuing Professional Development
Almost half of respondents (49%) felt that opportunities for
CPD were not regularly available to all care home nurses. However, one third (33%)
disagreed with this and considered CPD opportunities to be available.
The three barriers to CPD that were most often given the
highest priority by respondents were:
- Staff shortages / lack of cover
- Time constraints
- Lack of funding
The three methods of delivering education and training to care home nurses that
were top ranked most often were:
- On the job / opportunistic training
- Formal courses / qualifications
- Seminars and workshops
The future workforce
Almost half of respondents (49%) felt that undergraduate
pre-registration nurse education does not provide care home nurses with the
required skills, knowledge, competencies and experience to deliver high quality
care to older residents.
Just over one third (35%) of respondents felt that care homes provide supportive learning opportunities for pre-registration student nurses, which encourage them to return to work in care homes later in their careers.
There were mixed views from respondents on whether the care home industry offers challenging and rewarding career pathways for newly registered nurses: 41% agreed and 44% disagreed.
Just over one third (35%) of respondents felt that care homes provide supportive learning opportunities for pre-registration student nurses, which encourage them to return to work in care homes later in their careers.
There were mixed views from respondents on whether the care home industry offers challenging and rewarding career pathways for newly registered nurses: 41% agreed and 44% disagreed.