AEGIS AGED CARE GROUP

‘HEAD START INTO AGED CARE’

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

BACKGROUND:

Aegis Aged Care Group recognises the critical role that registered nurses have in our facilities and we have a strong organisational culture that values learning. We demonstrate this through a commitment to education, educators and providing opportunities for our successful newly graduated registered nurses to develop and enhance their professional attributes, clinical skills,

and knowledge.

Aegis Aged Care Group has also recognised the importance of responding to future community expectations and evolving service models through innovative workplace planning and our program plays a significant role in Aegis Aged Care Group’s ‘nurturing our workforce’ retention strategy.

The aim of the Aegis Aged Care Group’s ‘Head Start into Aged Care’ practice program for graduate registered nurses is to provide a supportive environment that assists them to consolidate and further develop their knowledge, skills, competency, and career opportunities in a specialty field.

WHAT WILL THE ‘HEAD START INTO AGED CARE’ PROGRAM LOOK LIKE?

Our ‘Head Start into Aged Care’ six-week comprehensive blended learning (face-to-face and workplace-based) program provides an opportunity for face-to-face education time, supernumerary rostering, and clinical support from a buddy including de-briefing sessions with the clinical team that focuses on clinical decisionmaking, resident management, and professional practice.

This program would suit newly graduated registered nurses looking for a rewarding and worthy career in aged care to experience and develop skills and ongoing permanent employment with a stable clinical team in our organisation. All newly graduated registered nurses participating in this program will experience a welcoming working environment with appropriate induction and orientation for providing a positive learning environment that contributes to long-term employee retention.

Areas of best practice clinical care covered in the program include, (but are not limited to…)

• Manual handling

• Initial and ongoing assessment and care planning in

consultation with the resident and their representatives

• Supporting residents’ choices and mitigating risk

• Referral processes – hospital transfers and

documentation, GP, Allied Health, and external referrals

• Restrictive Practice minimisation

• Clinical deterioration - Identifying and responding to the changes in health care status

• Training in eCase – Aegis Aged Care Group’s residential aged care information

management system including best practice documentation, use of abbreviations,

charting, progress notes, and starting forms

• Incident pathways, checklists and reporting, and Serious Incident Response Scheme

• Dementia and managing aggressive and potentially aggressive behaviours

• Aegis Aged Care Group’s policies and procedures

• Falls management – head injuries, suspected fractures

• Wound care – wound bed preparation, TIME, skin tears, pressure injuries, dressing selection

• Management of sensory loss

• Leadership – supervising staff, organisational skills, priority setting

• End-of-life care

• Critical thinking

• Family case conferences

• Complaint management – including difficult conversations and open disclosure best practice frameworks.

Registered nurses will also be provided with a range of resources including step-by-step guides applicable to a range of Australian clinical evidence-based protocols, procedures, and skills applicable to the aged care sector through our subscription to Lippencott Procedures Australia which has mapped their resources to the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

For further information regarding our program please contact Carina Pollock, Human Resources

Recruitment Officer (carina.pollock@aegiscare.com.au) or via telephone 08 6254 8259.