Staff Nurse Learning Disabilities

Job/Role Summary

• Assessment, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of care packages to meet the holistic needs of clients with learning disabilities
• Working within a multidisciplinary team to provide a high standard of care
• Implementing therapies and programmes of treatment for clients
• Responsibility for record keeping
• Communication with clients and their families/carers
• Working within the policies of the Trust

Specific qualifications and experience required

• Registered Nurse, Part 1 of the Register
• Learning Disability

Career Milestones

During my final year as a student I gained an award for work completed in a Learning Disability setting as a result of a project I was part of with a team of two other colleagues. This increased my confidence and awareness of learning disabilities. I feel that this motivated me to seek to improve my knowledge and skills both personally and professionally and to seek to set high standards. A large part of my role is acting as an advocate for people with learning disabilities. This year I have embarked on further study in order to finish a degree in Learning Disabilities. The modules I have chosen have helped me increase my knowledge and encouraged me to work with educating other staff on what I have learned. I have had the opportunity to be involved in a journal club which has helped me in focusing my efforts in finding evidence supporting best practice initiatives. In the future I hope to focus my experience, knowledge and skills in one particular area or specialty. I feel that my initial experience as a staff nurse has been an excellent basis for my future career. In the future I can see that I will need to develop my knowledge and skills both personally and professionally throughout my career.

What attracted you to this job?

• I had been placed as a student in the location I now work and had really enjoyed the placements
• I wanted to develop the skills that I had gained through training
• I wanted to increase my knowledge about Learning Disability

Enjoyable aspects of the job/role

• The opportunity to learn new skills and increase my knowledge of various syndromes, conditions and treatments
• Job satisfaction – knowing that I am making a difference to the patient’s life and supporting families
• Working in a team and meeting new people .Having a network of colleagues who allow me to increase my confidence and skills in a supportive environment

Important success factors

• Supportive manager who has facilitated my further personal and professional development
• My commitment to developing within my role and eagerness to learn new skills to enhance my competence
• Senior nursing and medical staff who make the environment enjoyable to work and learn in

Advice for those considering the type of job/role?

Anyone who is considering moving in to the field of Learning Disability needs to have an understanding that it is very different to general nursing. A basic knowledge of learning disabilities and previous experience with this client group would be beneficial. When working within this field the individual would need to be aware that aspects of care delivery can be very time consuming and require patience and understanding to achieve a gradual success in any area of learning for the client. This job is very rewarding and I get a great deal of enjoyment and personal fulfilment from my job. Like any job it can be demanding at times but the positive aspects outweigh the negative aspects

Key skills that can be gained within this job/role?

• Skills in different settings and aspects of care management
• Increase in confidence
• Increase in knowledge of learning disability
• Increase in competency in delivering care
• Skills in using learning opportunities when working with other disciplines/agencies

Career Profiles