Myths, and Truths: real life Greater Manchester experiences
A social care placement will not offer me the right opportunities to fulfil my proficiencies
False!
Tanya Taylor
2nd Year BSc Adult Nursing Student Bolton Hospice placement
“I have learnt lots of clinical skills including catheter care and syringe driver use.”
Tanya Taylor
2nd Year BSc Adult Nursing Student Bolton Hospice placement
My final placement of the first year was at Bolton Hospice. When I was first informed of the placement area I had mixed emotions, firstly I was excited to learn from the nurses who had originally inspired me to study to be a nurse. But I was also apprehensive that I might find it upsetting and a gloomy place to be.
Fortunately, I couldn’t have been more wrong! The hospice itself is a light and welcoming, the staff are amazing and show how to provide holistic care to the patients and their loved ones.
I have learnt lots of clinical skills including catheter care and syringe driver use. All the members of the MDT at the hospice are willing to teach students their valuable roles in person-centred end of life care. The hospice has inspired me to involve not only the patient but in their own care but their friends/families who are often effected negatively when their loved one is unwell.
I will take so many skills forward into my future role as a nurse learnt at the hospice and which can apply to endless areas of nursing.
Abbie Moss
Student nurse on placement at Lakeside Care Home in Wigan
“I have learnt how to provide true, holistic, person-centred care and will take this with me for the rest of my training and when I become a nurse.”
Abbie Moss
Student nurse on placement at Lakeside Care Home in Wigan
Before working at Lakeside I had negative perceptions about what care homes were like. I expected the care home to smell, have a depressing atmosphere and be full of residents with a poor quality of life…..
However, since spending time at the care home, my views have completely changed! I have seen how important the small things are. Communication between staff and residents is essential to providing the best care and this is seen with all staff including cooks, domestics and office staff not just carers and nurses.
I have learnt how to provide true, holistic, person-centred care and will take this with me for the rest of my training and when I become a nurse.
For details for nursing competencies please click here
For details of learning opportunities for Occupational Therapy learners please click here
Critical thinking and decision making skills are enhanced when working in social care which assist in becoming an autonomous practitioner
Social care equals older people and I want to work with young adults
False!
Gail Howard
Registered Manager, Lakeside Care Home
“After qualifying Gail worked in a variety of settings including palliative care, working with young adults with challenging behaviours and complex needs for example, drugs, alcohol, Huntington’s disease and learning disabilities.”
Gail Howard
Registered Manager, Lakeside Care Home
Gail started her journey as an unpaid personal carer. She then went to study nursing and worked part time in a care home as a student as well as undertaking her various placements. After qualifying Gail worked in a variety of settings including palliative care, working with young adults with challenging behaviours and complex needs for example, drugs, alcohol, Huntington’s disease and learning disabilities before her current role in adult nursing care where she works with an individual with complex clinical care needs such as those with motor neuron disease, strokes, Parkinson’s, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, and dementia
“The care home has welcomed a variety of learners from varying courses including paramedics, sports physios, nurses, speech and language and dietetics. Many learners initially buy into the myths about social care, but it’s great to see the positive feedback from their reflective accounts as the placements progress. In particular, from day one, we really focus on the importance of communication because if learners can’t communicate with people then they won’t get anywhere and this fundamental skill will assist them with whatever they go onto next.”
“I want learners to really get to know the residents so that when family, friends or others enquire about their well-being or progress in a particular area, they can have those meaningful conversations, a truly person-centred approach. I think this is possibly one of the greatest skills of all that learners can get from our environment.”
What are the benefits to the care home from working with students?
“In so much as we want to provide a valuable learning experience for the learners where they can meet all their competencies, we also want to learn from them. They bring fresh eyes, new ideas and make us question the things we do and the ways in which we do things. The learners are looked after and supported but this two-way process of sharing also helps us to develop as a care home and in turn this benefits our residents. The residents enjoy being involved in supporting the learners and being asked for their thoughts and opinions. New people, new personalities and precious 1:1 time that isn’t rushed contributes to our own learning and person-centred approach and so it’s a win:win every time”
Why is this Guide important?
“This Guide is welcome as it will help break down barriers, dispel myths and ultimately go towards helping people to be looked after in their own homes (wherever that may be). People want to avoid going into hospital and prefer to stay “at home” and the more learners that can experience the care home as the preferred environment as residents HOME OF CHOICE HOME has to be a very positive thing”.
Rowena Bolton
Home Manager, Cheadle Manor Care Home in Stockport
“The sheer diversity of individuals with a mix of chronic or specialist conditions living in residential care offers students and professionals the opportunity to become multiskilled and expert within a range of diverse areas.”
Rowena Bolton
Home Manager, Cheadle Manor Care Home in Stockport
Rowena qualified in 1995 as one of the first Project 2000 diploma nurses and then worked for the NHS before moving into care homes in 2007. She has worked in a clinical lead role since 2017. Her background and passions are within stroke care, end of life care and looking after people living with dementia.
Although passionate about the role of social care and the dedicated professionals that work within it now, Rowena remembers her own preconceptions and opinions prior to her shift from student nurse then working in the NHS to when she commenced work in a care home.
MYTH “Nurses working in care homes aren’t good enough to work in the NHS.”
How wrong was I! Nurses working in care homes/nursing homes work within a different culture than those working within a ward. They deal with people all the time that have a range of very complex clinical needs. They make clinical judgements that would normally be made by junior doctors on wards to ensure residents receive the best care available. This can often mean avoiding hospitalisation which can be very traumatic or working within a multi-disciplinary team to ensure a smooth hospital discharge back to their home.
MYTH “Nurses in care homes are cutting back and preparing for early retirement.”
If the job role is too demanding, then take a rest from the NHS and wind down? Again, this is a myth as many of my colleagues and peers are young, energetic career professionals that recognise the career development opportunities that social care setting may offer. I personally developed from nurse to manager and am by no means planning to take it easy and to sit and wait for retirement.
MYTH “Student nurses draw the short straw if they must do a placement in a social care setting.”
An active part of my role is that of supporting learners to undertake learning opportunities within Cheadle Manor. We have had some fantastic feedback over the years from 2nd and 3rd year learners and it has really opened their eyes as to the real plethora of opportunities to grow, develop and gain competencies. However, as I shared my own initial views above the myths surrounding the value and worth of social care as a clinical learning environment still prevail and much more needs to be done to dispel the myths and celebrate successes in this area.
MYTH “Nurses working in social care become deskilled.”
Quite the opposite! The sheer diversity of individuals with a mix of chronic or specialist conditions living in residential care offers students and professionals the opportunity to become multi-skilled and expert within a range of diverse areas. They get the experience of working within multi-professional teams and build real relationships with people that they care for and their families often up until end of life.
Final words
The relationship between the NHS and social care needs to be better understood if we are to be working towards a truly integrated and innovative offer. A greater understanding of social care settings and services means greater respect, cooperation, and collaboration. The end user be it a patient or resident will benefit in terms of person-centred care and support and quality of life. Working closely with educators we need to ensure that the real benefits of learner placements within social care are accurately understood, widely celebrated, and become commonplace. There should be a requirement to experience a wide variety of settings that come together to make the systems work.
Working in social care can help develop an understanding of 'what matters to the individual' and not just 'what’s the matter with the individual', promoting person centred ways of working
A social care setting isn't as dynamic and challenging as a hospital ward
False!
Caroline Pressick
Registered Manager, St Georges (Wigan) Ltd. Care home with nursing
“Good quality, person-centred care doesn’t just start and end with the NHS. It is hard work and not an easy path, but it forces you to think in innovative ways to help residents get the support they deserve. If anything, the work I do now is far more complex and rewarding than my time spent on a ward.”
Caroline Pressick
Registered Manager, St Georges (Wigan) Ltd. Care home with nursing
Caroline was a nurse in the NHS for over 40 years before she retired – But not for long! She then came back to work as a registered manager in social care. Before working in social care Caroline admits to believing all the horror stories you hear about the sector. She didn’t think for one minute, she would then choose this kind of new role and make the leap from a hospital ward to social care.
How do you actively engage with students?
“the social care sector must be part of the narrative and to get the advert out there that good quality, person-centred care doesn’t just start and end with the NHS. We must be an active part of the whole story and show students the real side of our work and what goes on.
“All of our students start with an introductory visit so that this can put them at ease even before day one. Some, (like I did) have preconceived ideas about what working within a social care setting would be like and I’ve students confess they were dreading coming to a nursing home but now can’t wait! That learning stays with them because once they start, they soon realise that social care is a great place to work and build their skills. This soon dispels the myths about not being able to have opportunities to provide evidence of competency.”
What is included in weekly teaching sessions?
When swallowing goes wrong’ or DOLS/MCA. They last about 90 minutes with a Q&A session. Once I am confident, they have understood the sessions the students have a copy of Handout and a Certificate of Attendance for their CPD file. The teaching sessions suit ALL the student disciplines.
Students are a real benefit to us, with, for example, innovations and current research ideas, as much as we benefit them in our practice exposures and support.
I believe that working in social care gives you greater autonomy as a professional and more opportunity to focus on relationships and communication as this is always key with the residents and to work with other multidisciplinary teams. I agree it is hard work and not an easy path, but it forces you to think in innovative ways to help residents get the support they deserve. If anything, the work I do now is far more complex and rewarding than my time spent on a ward.
Holistic person centred care can be delivered in Social Care
Only people entering the end of their careers would work in social care - A time to slow down
False!
Rowena Bolton
Home Manager, Cheadle Manor Care Home in Stockport
“Many of my colleagues and peers are young, energetic career professionals that recognise the career development opportunities that social care settings may offer. I personally developed from nurse to manager.”
Rowena Bolton
Home Manager, Cheadle Manor Care Home in Stockport
Rowena qualified in 1995 as one of the first Project 2000 diploma nurses and then worked for the NHS before moving into care homes in 2007. She has worked in a clinical lead role since 2017. Her background and passions are within stroke care, end of life care and looking after people living with dementia.
Although passionate about the role of social care and the dedicated professionals that work within it now, Rowena remembers her own preconceptions and opinions prior to her shift from student nurse then working in the NHS to when she commenced work in a care home.
MYTH “Nurses working in care homes aren’t good enough to work in the NHS.”
How wrong was I! Nurses working in care homes/nursing homes work within a different culture than those working within a ward. They deal with people all the time that have a range of very complex clinical needs. They make clinical judgements that would normally be made by junior doctors on wards to ensure residents receive the best care available. This can often mean avoiding hospitalisation which can be very traumatic or working within a multi-disciplinary team to ensure a smooth hospital discharge back to their home.
MYTH “Nurses in care homes are cutting back and preparing for early retirement.”
If the job role is too demanding, then take a rest from the NHS and wind down? Again, this is a myth as many of my colleagues and peers are young, energetic career professionals that recognise the career development opportunities that social care setting may offer. I personally developed from nurse to manager and am by no means planning to take it easy and to sit and wait for retirement.
MYTH “Student nurses draw the short straw if they must do a placement in a social care setting.”
An active part of my role is that of supporting learners to undertake learning opportunities within Cheadle Manor. We have had some fantastic feedback over the years from 2nd and 3rd year learners and it has really opened their eyes as to the real plethora of opportunities to grow, develop and gain competencies. However, as I shared my own initial views above the myths surrounding the value and worth of social care as a clinical learning environment still prevail and much more needs to be done to dispel the myths and celebrate successes in this area.
MYTH “Nurses working in social care become deskilled.”
Quite the opposite! The sheer diversity of individuals with a mix of chronic or specialist conditions living in residential care offers students and professionals the opportunity to become multi-skilled and expert within a range of diverse areas. They get the experience of working within multi-professional teams and build real relationships with people that they care for and their families often up until end of life.
Final words
The relationship between the NHS and social care needs to be better understood if we are to be working towards a truly integrated and innovative offer. A greater understanding of social care settings and services means greater respect, cooperation, and collaboration. The end user be it a patient or resident will benefit in terms of person-centred care and support and quality of life. Working closely with educators we need to ensure that the real benefits of learner placements within social care are accurately understood, widely celebrated, and become commonplace. There should be a requirement to experience a wide variety of settings that come together to make the systems work.
Social care nurses work with people with very complex nursing needs including end of life care
There is a limited range of career opportunities in social care
False!
Tanya Taylor
2nd Year BSc Adult Nursing Student Bolton Hospice placement
“I will take so many skills forward into my future role as a nurse learnt at the hospice and which can apply to endless areas of nursing.”
Tanya Taylor
2nd Year BSc Adult Nursing Student Bolton Hospice placement
My final placement of the first year was at Bolton Hospice. When I was first informed of the placement area I had mixed emotions, firstly I was excited to learn from the nurses who had originally inspired me to study to be a nurse. But I was also apprehensive that I might find it upsetting and a gloomy place to be.
Fortunately, I couldn’t have been more wrong! The hospice itself is a light and welcoming, the staff are amazing and show how to provide holistic care to the patients and their loved ones.
I have learnt lots of clinical skills including catheter care and syringe driver use. All the members of the MDT at the hospice are willing to teach students their valuable roles in person-centred end of life care. The hospice has inspired me to involve not only the patient but in their own care but their friends/families who are often effected negatively when their loved one is unwell.
I will take so many skills forward into my future role as a nurse learnt at the hospice and which can apply to endless areas of nursing.
Gail Howard
Registered Manager, Lakeside Care Home
“My current role in adult social care nursing involves working with individuals with complex clinical care needs such as motor neuron disease, strokes, Parkinson’s, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, and dementia.”
Gail Howard
Registered Manager, Lakeside Care Home
Gail started her journey as an unpaid personal carer. She then went to study nursing and worked part time in a care home as a student as well as undertaking her various placements. After qualifying Gail worked in a variety of settings including palliative care, working with young adults with challenging behaviours and complex needs for example, drugs, alcohol, Huntington’s disease and learning disabilities before her current role in adult nursing care where she works with an individual with complex clinical care needs such as those with motor neuron disease, strokes, Parkinson’s, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, and dementia
“The care home has welcomed a variety of learners from varying courses including paramedics, sports physios, nurses, speech and language and dietetics. Many learners initially buy into the myths about social care, but it’s great to see the positive feedback from their reflective accounts as the placements progress. In particular, from day one, we really focus on the importance of communication because if learners can’t communicate with people then they won’t get anywhere and this fundamental skill will assist them with whatever they go onto next.”
“I want learners to really get to know the residents so that when family, friends or others enquire about their well-being or progress in a particular area, they can have those meaningful conversations, a truly person-centred approach. I think this is possibly one of the greatest skills of all that learners can get from our environment.”
What are the benefits to the care home from working with students?
“In so much as we want to provide a valuable learning experience for the learners where they can meet all their competencies, we also want to learn from them. They bring fresh eyes, new ideas and make us question the things we do and the ways in which we do things. The learners are looked after and supported but this two-way process of sharing also helps us to develop as a care home and in turn this benefits our residents. The residents enjoy being involved in supporting the learners and being asked for their thoughts and opinions. New people, new personalities and precious 1:1 time that isn’t rushed contributes to our own learning and person-centred approach and so it’s a win:win every time”
Why is this Guide important?
“This Guide is welcome as it will help break down barriers, dispel myths and ultimately go towards helping people to be looked after in their own homes (wherever that may be). People want to avoid going into hospital and prefer to stay “at home” and the more learners that can experience the care home as the preferred environment as residents HOME OF CHOICE HOME has to be a very positive thing”.
Social care nurses work collaboratively with a wide range of health and other professionals
Social care is a "second class" experience and not equal to other NHS led experiences to learn or work
False!
Rowena Bolton
Home Manager, Cheadle Manor Care Home in Stockport
“Nurses working in care homes/nursing homes work within a different culture than those working within a ward. They deal with people all the time that have a range of very complex clinical needs. They make clinical judgements that would normally be made by junior doctors on wards to ensure residents receive the best care available.”
Rowena Bolton
Home Manager, Cheadle Manor Care Home in Stockport
Rowena qualified in 1995 as one of the first Project 2000 diploma nurses and then worked for the NHS before moving into care homes in 2007. She has worked in a clinical lead role since 2017. Her background and passions are within stroke care, end of life care and looking after people living with dementia.
Although passionate about the role of social care and the dedicated professionals that work within it now, Rowena remembers her own preconceptions and opinions prior to her shift from student nurse then working in the NHS to when she commenced work in a care home.
MYTH “Nurses working in care homes aren’t good enough to work in the NHS.”
How wrong was I! Nurses working in care homes/nursing homes work within a different culture than those working within a ward. They deal with people all the time that have a range of very complex clinical needs. They make clinical judgements that would normally be made by junior doctors on wards to ensure residents receive the best care available. This can often mean avoiding hospitalisation which can be very traumatic or working within a multi-disciplinary team to ensure a smooth hospital discharge back to their home.
MYTH “Nurses in care homes are cutting back and preparing for early retirement.”
If the job role is too demanding, then take a rest from the NHS and wind down? Again, this is a myth as many of my colleagues and peers are young, energetic career professionals that recognise the career development opportunities that social care setting may offer. I personally developed from nurse to manager and am by no means planning to take it easy and to sit and wait for retirement.
MYTH “Student nurses draw the short straw if they must do a placement in a social care setting.”
An active part of my role is that of supporting learners to undertake learning opportunities within Cheadle Manor. We have had some fantastic feedback over the years from 2nd and 3rd year learners and it has really opened their eyes as to the real plethora of opportunities to grow, develop and gain competencies. However, as I shared my own initial views above the myths surrounding the value and worth of social care as a clinical learning environment still prevail and much more needs to be done to dispel the myths and celebrate successes in this area.
MYTH “Nurses working in social care become deskilled.”
Quite the opposite! The sheer diversity of individuals with a mix of chronic or specialist conditions living in residential care offers students and professionals the opportunity to become multi-skilled and expert within a range of diverse areas. They get the experience of working within multi-professional teams and build real relationships with people that they care for and their families often up until end of life.
Final words
The relationship between the NHS and social care needs to be better understood if we are to be working towards a truly integrated and innovative offer. A greater understanding of social care settings and services means greater respect, cooperation, and collaboration. The end user be it a patient or resident will benefit in terms of person-centred care and support and quality of life. Working closely with educators we need to ensure that the real benefits of learner placements within social care are accurately understood, widely celebrated, and become commonplace. There should be a requirement to experience a wide variety of settings that come together to make the systems work.
Social care nurses have opportunities to combine nursing practice with management and leadership roles
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