Registered Nurses
From flexible shifts to deep relationships with Residential Aged Care residents or Home Care clients, Registered Nursing in aged care offers a fulfilling career with professional development and work-life balance.
6 reasons to be a Registered Nurse in aged care
Having worked at BaptistCare over four years, Geeth shared with us why she made the move and why she’s never looked back.
Here are Geeth’s six reasons to become a Registered Nurse in aged care:
- You’ll use a wide breadth of nursing skills
- You get to know your residents
- You can choose shifts that fit around your life
- You’ll receive a competitive salary
- You will make a genuine difference in people’s lives
- There are ongoing opportunities for professional development
Work life balance
At BaptistCare we value family and believe that work-life balance is important, we offer flexible week days, weekend and permanent part-time roles. You will have the flexibility to spend time with your family and take care of them, while you make a difference caring for older people in your local community.
Susan's Story
Like many in her position, Susan found that working in emergency meant long, tiring days, a highly pressured environment, and the inability to really get to know her patients.
Susan says that aged care is a whole new world in comparison.
“It’s a slower pace and your residents are here long-term. So there is time and space to really build meaningful relationships and witness the difference you are making in their lives.”
Dropping shift work when she moved into aged care, Susan now works the same hours each day, arriving home to her family happy, relaxed, and fulfilled.
Steph and Gareth’s Story
Meet our power couple from Orange, Steph and Gareth Danis.
Having worked for decades as critical care nurses, they’ve found a beautiful new way of life in community aged care.
“We both made the career move just under a year ago,” says Gareth. “I joined BaptistCare first as a Clinical Care Facilitator (Registered Nurse), and Steph joined as a Care Facilitator just a few months later. To say it’s been life-changing is an understatement.”
“We’d always used to tag in and out of shifts,” says Steph. “We can actually sit down together as a family for dinner now, and the kids get both of us instead of just one parent most of the time.”
Colleen’s Story
Colleen Ross can still remember the first day she put on a nurse's uniform. Young, full of excitement and a passion for caring for people, she never could have imagined that 50 years later she’d still be doing, and loving, this job.
Colleen has been working with BaptistCare for seven of her 50 years of nursing, but she’s been in the aged care space for a lot longer. “When I started having kids it changed work for me and I needed something that worked better around the family.”
“I loved being able to look after the same people each day,” she said. “You’re having deep relationships with the residents here, where in a hospital setting people are coming and going all the time.”
Casey’s Story
Casey is a former Registered Nurse who made the move from hospital work to aged care. Making the move from hospital work to aged care homes was certainly not a decision Casey made lightly.
“Nursing is a very giving profession, but moving into aged care was also about taking care of myself so that I could better take care of others,” she explains.
As well as offering better work-life balance, Casey says aged care has given her an opportunity to get to know her residents over time and build relationships.
“One of the main features of working in the acute sector is the constant pressure to get people out of the hospital once they come in. The focus stops being so much about the person and more about the bed space.
“Aged care is quite different. It’s built into my role to spend time with residents, to support them in feeling happy, safe, and at home. It still feels like a bit of a luxury to be able to do that!”
Gerald’s Story
Gerald has worked as a Registered Nurse with BaptistCare for almost three years, but with over 16 years of experience, he is a wonderful asset to the team, recently moving into the position of Residential Care Team Manager!
Gerald says his recent success is due in large part to the wonderful career development opportunities on offer at BaptistCare.
“BaptistCare is very good for Registered Nurses’ career development,” he says. “I was enrolled in an Infection Control course after just one year and soon became an Infection Control Lead in the care home.
