AGED CARE: NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE

NURSE VIEWPOINT

bupaagedcare.com.au

Introduction

Australian aged care is a dynamic sector. Meeting the needs of our ageing baby boomer population drives innovation and flexibility in the way we care. With the ageing population expected to quadruple over the next 40 years, strategies are needed to ensure steady capacity and growth into the future.

Investment in bricks and mortar will be important, but the people are the backbone of the aged care industry. According to the recent Productivity Commission Report Caring for Older Australians, ‘a coordinated approach to improving the attractiveness of the aged care sector is necessary’.

Bupa aged care surveyed Registered Nurses and nurses in leadership roles to investigate their attitudes toward working in the aged care industry

and to identify ways we can make a career in aged care nursing a more attractive option.

Our focus group discussions, involving nurses working in the aged care and public sectors, provoked a diverse range of opinions.

Nurses working in aged care found their jobs very satisfying and valued the career advancement opportunities on offer, but nurses working outside the sector had a negative view of aged care, considering it a ‘last ditch’ career choice.

There is a clear disconnect between the attitudes of nurses working in the industry and nurses in other roles. A great deal of work needs to be done to turn around prevailing attitudes and promote aged care nursing as a clinical specialism and satisfying career choice.

In particular, we need to work with our university colleagues to build the credentials of aged care nursing in the minds of future generations of nurses. Currently, aged care nursing is not offered as a core subject in the nursing curriculum. Work needs to be done to acknowledge aged care nursing at a tertiary level and build ‘dementia nursing’ as an emerging clinical speciality.

We must also address the inequity that sees nurses working in the not-for-profit sector receiving salary sacrificing tax benefits not available to the rest of the industry.

The following pages highlight the opinions of the 30 nurses we spoke with. Their words will serve to provoke debate about the way forward.

In late 2011 Bupa engaged

with Australian nurses

to investigate attitudes

towards working in

aged care. Over a series

of focus groups and

in-depth interviews,

clear attitudinal trends

emerged indicating that

aged care isn’t what it

used to be.

1. Aged care is not considered a nursing specialism

Aged care nursing is complex with specialised skills in many clinical areas including palliative, wound and pain management. Dementia is a fast-growing and emerging nursing specialism and demands both a high level of clinical competence and interpersonal skills that are unique to aged care nursing.

However, the image of aged care as a regressive industry still impacts upon decisions to consider aged care nursing as a serious career choice.

Our research suggests that nursing graduates are highly sensitive to the fact that universities do not support a career in the aged care industry. After graduating, potential candidates are uncertain about making a career move to an industry that won’t use their new skills ‘what a waste’ or offer a motivating nursing specialism.

There is an overwhelming lack of understanding about the key benefits of working in aged care.

The Productivity Commission’s Caring for Older Australians Report identified the need to develop the specialism of aged care. Recommendation 14.3 stated:

The Australian Government, in conjunction with universities and providers, should fund the expansion of ‘teaching aged care services’ to promote the sector and provide appropriate training for medical, nursing and allied health students and professionals.

KEY RESEARCH INSIGHTS

Aged care is not what it used

to be tttttt

Aged care is a third year elective,

no-one really cares about it tttttt

“ “

...under resourced – too business orientedtttttt

Building relationships with residents, families and co-workers tttttt

“

““

2. Working in aged care is immensely satisfying

There is a genuine opportunity across all skill groups in aged care to make a difference. Workers report a sense of satisfaction derived from the benefits they bring to other peoples’ lives.

Senior managers value the business skills they acquire, and the freedom to implement change.

Evidence from our research suggests that the benefits of working in aged care need to be collectively promoted to both better attract future nursing and management talent into the industry and overcome the ‘regressive and old fashioned’ perception barriers.

You get to treat the person not the disease tttttt

“

“

“

““

‘There are great

misconceptions about

working in aged care’,

– Bupa aged care HR

Director Kate Sellick

3. People working in aged care are qualified and passionate

There is a false perception among acute hospital nurses that a move to aged care means moving to an unskilled environment where clinical skills will be under-utilised.

Every carer holds a Certificate III aged care qualification at the least. Residential aged care staff are exposed to a wide range of care scenarios, building confidence in their skills and

flexibility in their approach to care, management and leadership. Nurses entering the aged care industry are likely to be surprised by the depth of experience and professional support provided by care staff.

The perception that aged care nursing is less skilled than the public sector is perpetuated by pay inequity.

When examining the sustainability of the aged care workforce the Productivity Commission’s Caring for Older Australians report noted the ‘longstanding disparity between the wages paid to nurses employed in the aged care sector compared to those employed in comparable settings’.

Recommendation 14.1 stated ‘ … the need to pay fair and competitive wages to nursing and other care staff delivering approved aged care services and the appropriate mix of skills and staffing levels for the delivery of those services ..’.

In light of this recommendation the report called for scheduled prices for aged care to be taken into account and acknowledged that “inadequate funding and indexation mechanisms diminish aged care providers’ ability to pay fair and competitive wages”.

In addition, nurses working in the aged care industry feel the wage disparity between the profit and not-for-profit sectors is unfair and a disincentive to working in the non-charity sector.

4. You shape the future

A nursing and managerial career in aged care is an opportunity to shape the future and make a positive difference in other people’s lives.

Our research shows nurses working within aged care see the industry offering distinct benefits in terms of:

work/life balance – fixed rosters

professional support

personal development

accelerated pathways into managerial positions, and

clinical speciality career pathways such as dementia nursing.

My medical knowledge as a nurse has really increased, if I were in aged care it would go nowheretttttt

“ “

Carrying the load of unskilled carerstttttt “

“ Ability to make a difference – more control over what you dott“

Variety of work – skills building beyond the clinicaltttttt “ ““

Fantastic career development. They train you up to be a manager in two yearstttttt

“ “

© Bupa 2011

For further information, please contact Sean Fitzgerald, Resourcing and Reward Manager, Bupa Care Services 02 8247 3046