What Jobs are Available for Nurses at Care Homes?

There are over 20,000 care homes in the UK. That’s a lot of care home jobs! Plus, there are nursing and social care jobs within domiciliary care and home healthcare. We look at what each offers the nursing job seeker, and how they are defined.

Firstly, it seems to make sense to briefly define the various institutions and places of work covered by the general umbrella term of Care Home Nursing Jobs.

Secondly, we’ll turn to the specific care home jobs for RGNs, RMNs, RNLDs, Care Home Managers and healthcare assistants and carers.

Places of Work: Domiciliary Nurse Jobs and Home Health Nurses

A person will require health or social care for any number of reasons. Broadly speaking, it is simply when people may not be able to care for themselves at home.

The common misconception, though, is that social care and healthcare outside of the hospital setting is something particular to the elderly. This isn't the case - it’s important not to just think of elderly care when considering a nursing job beyond the clinical nursing setting.

For instance, people may need care following an operation, or recovering from illness - these patients may not need to go into an institutionalised clinical facility, but will require, for instance, therapeutic care, wound dressing or medicine at home.

And social care jobs also include such assistance. The carer or qualified nurse works, often with the patient’s family or friends, to provide care and professional assistance at home.

This may come from the NHS (by way of the Primary Care Trust) or local social care services. This depends on what is needed of course - a social care support worker or a qualified nurse such as a District or Community Nurse whose job it is to manage a patient’s recovery or keep their condition stable.

So, what is a Care Home?

Strictly speaking a care home provides round the clock health care and social support, but not necessarily nursing care from qualified nursing staff.

Residential care home jobs therefore offer help for those people who may not be able to look after themselves at home and where domiciliary support is no longer possible or sufficient or preferred.

It need not be for healthcare reasons requiring qualified nursing staff, but simply assistance with providing meals and cleaning.

Nursing Home jobs

The term ‘Care Home’ is so often referred to as a nursing home that the two definitions have become a little blurred.

A nursing home is, really, a care home which employs qualified nurses who are trained and registered and able to provide nursing care.

In short, a nursing home is required to have qualified nurses on the premises at all times, so nursing home jobs will often require RGNs, RMNs or RNLDs (more on this later).

Nursing homes are not simply places for elderly nursing. People with learning difficulties, for instance, can receive specialist help in a nursing home.

Patients who need temporary care but not a hospital bed will find it in specialist nursing care homes - during convalescence for instance, or respite care that will give the full time carer some time off.

SNUs are Skilled Nursing Units, so these will require qualified nursing staff.

What are the Care Home Nursing Jobs in the UK?

RGN Care Home Jobs: RGN or Registered General Nurse jobs...

One of the most commonly advertised nursing jobs is for a qualified registered nurse to work in a care home.

The range of nursing jobs within care homes is too wide to detail, but it’s fair to say that a large number will work as an Elderly Care Nurse...

But even this is too broad - an Elderly Care Nurse may be a specialist in Palliative Care (End of Life nursing jobs), or oncology, or surgical, or medical nursing.

RMN Care Home Jobs

Again, it’s too simplistic to imagine all Registered Mental Nurse jobs are centred around dementia. It’s not the case. But, of course, many RMN care home jobs do require dementia specialists.

Typically, most nursing homes will employ RMNs as well as RGNs. As a jobs board, you can take it from us that there are a lot of RMN care home vacancies - this is a good industry to be in if you want to find employment.

When searching for RMN jobs in care homes you’ll see EMI care home jobs. EMI homes care for the Elderly Mentally Infirm - hence EMI.

They will provide specialist care for Dementia, Alzheimers, Parkisons and other mental health conditions in nursing homes or mental health centres.

RNLD Care Home jobs

RNLDs - Registered Nurse Learning Disabilities - are trained and qualified to provide care and support for people, of any age, with learning difficulties. RNLD nurse jobs can be based either in the community, in a school, education centre, hospital, specialist hospital, prison...

Care Home Manager Jobs

Care Home Managers are not simply qualified and registered nurses looking for promotion. In fact, many care home manager job vacancies do not need nursing qualifications.

But experience and qualifications may certainly help, but these do not necessarily need to be nursing qualifications...The RMA NVQ Level 4 (Registered Managers Award - Adults) is commonly seen in care home job ads, either as an essential requirement or a preferred requirement.

As a care home manager or deputy care home manager you will have a considerable degree of responsibility for both staff and clients, and the RMA NVQ helps you understand and meet the requirements of the National Care Standards Commission (in England).

Sometimes the Care Home Manager vacancy may also ask the applicant to be either an RGN or RMN, depending on the facility.

Carer Jobs in Care Homes

An NVQ in Health and Social Care will improve your chances of finding employment in the care sector - whether that be care home, nursing home, rest home or domiciliary care.

This is a recognised programme, easily available and will help you understand and carry out your care job. Available as NVQ Level 2 or Level 3. Carers and Healthcare Assistants will find employment in all these institutions and facilities mentioned above: care homes, rest homes, nursing homes, domiciliary care, respite care, home health jobs, social care jobs.

Many carers are highly skilled, trained, experienced and qualified healthcare professionals. In fact, we even know of some qualified nurses who occasionally work as a healthcare assistant or carer.

Notes

You may come across CQC when browsing care home jobs. CQC is the Care Quality Commission, an independent regulator of care, social care and health services in the UK.

The CQC regulates care whether it’s in a hospital or care home setting.

Go here for a full list of the care home jobs on Nurses.co.uk