Community nursing: a special kind of care for older people

February 4 is Primary Healthcare Nurses Day, celebrating the vital work of the more than 100,000 nurses across Australia who provide care outside the hospital setting.

For Bolton Clarke home and community support nurse Dennis, that means visiting clients across Melbourne’s northern suburbs to provide expert nursing care. Dennis is one of thousands of Bolton Clarke nurses who support care for more than 11,500 older people in their own homes every day across Australia.

“The pandemic opened my eyes to the need for more nurses and because we were stuck at home, I decided to study nursing – my mum is a nurse, so I understood the trials and tribulations in the industry,” Dennis said.

“I started as an undergraduate student of nursing which allowed me to do both roles as a personal care worker and a trainee registered nurse.

“When I finished my first year of nursing, I wanted to find out what type of nurse I was going to be, so I worked in many different types of nursing but I was drawn to the work here at Bolton Clarke.”

Primary Health Care Nurses Day (Wednesday 4 February) celebrates the vital work nurses do outside of the hospital setting including in aged care.

As a community nurse, Dennis works with clients from the comfort of their home, tailoring care plans to suit their unique lifestyle.

“In all my experience, it takes a special person to become a community nurse because you’re going into somebody’s home, you get to go inside their life.

“Because of that, you need to be able to adjust, try to live the way they live so that you can better understand what type of care you can deliver for them.

“I think that’s one of the beauties of ageing independently, is you get to celebrate little wins, like going to the café or being able to visit your family.”

Having the opportunity to work closely with clients is something that Dennis says is an honour for community nurses because they can approach care holistically.

“I really tap into building strong and genuine therapeutic relationships with clients to provide them with the whole picture.

“This gives them the opportunity to make informed decisions when they are trying to decide what type of life they want to live.

“Positive ageing to me is embracing the later stages of your life and it’s very important that we move away from the idea that ageing is a decline – it’s actually an opportunity for growth and new experiences.”