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Are Care Home Workers Nurses? Care Home Staffing Explained

There are many times when senior citizens will require some type of supervised care. This often comes in the form of an assisted living facility. Not only can these locations provide a more personalised approach to individual needs, but they are staffed with experienced professionals. However, are all workers employed within a care home registered nurses? In order to answer this question, we first need to highlight a handful of key observations.

 

The Differences Between a Care Home and a Nursing Home

 

These two terms are often used interchangeably and yet, each is defined slightly different. As the first phrase suggests, care homes provide around-the-clock services to their patients. However, the majority of these homes do not contain an on-site nurse. In the event of a medical emergency, a nurse will have to be called in to assist.

 

Nursing homes will provide the same level of assistance that is enjoyed in a care home. The only major difference is that a registered nurse is present 24 hours a day and seven days a week. These facilities are generally more appropriate for those with ongoing medical conditions or who may have severe mobility issues, as they can receive targeted treatment in the event of an emergency.

 

What is the Difference Between a Care Worker and a Nurse?

 

This is something that is especially important to consider especially if you were considering either the question of, how to start a home based senior care business? Or should you place a loved one into an assisted living facility? The main disparity between these two titles involves the amount of training that each individual has received. While both are indeed experts in their fields, nurses have undergone more extensive medical training within supervised settings. As a result, the primary responsibilities associated with each are quite different. Here are some typical duties of a care worker:

 

  • Developing interpersonal relationships with residents.
  • Helping with mobility issues.
  • Administering certain types of medication.
  • Looking after any injuries or chronic health problems.

 

Interestingly enough, nurses provide the very same types of services mentioned above. However, they will be responsible for additional duties including (but not always limited to):

 

  • Treating acute injuries.
  • Diagnosing and treating medical conditions
  • Working in synergy with a medical doctor.
  • Assessing individual care requirements.

 

At the time that this article written, it was estimated that more than 50,000 registered nurses are employed within assisted care facilities.

 

The Best of Both Worlds

 

We can now see that both of these titles share a number of basic features in common. However, each role is also quite specific in regards to medical assistance when it may be needed. Perhaps the main takeaway point is that seniors can expect to receive extremely personalised solutions from facilities that cater to all needs such as Eastleigh nursing homes in Somerset. Thus, friends and family members will rest easy in the knowledge that their loved ones are in good hands at all times.

 

It takes a special type of individual to become a nurse or a care worker. This is the very same reason why these professionals represent the veritable backbones of modern assisted living communities and their importance can never be overstated.