Mandy Kerr

This current role requires agency staff to accept shifts via the Caring For You members app, whereby staff agree to attend shifts at a wide variety of Residential Aged Care Facilities across the Sunshine Coast. Clinical responsibilities throughout these shifts include the following :

• Conduct thorough resident assessments to identify changes in conditions, promptly notifying physicians and initiating appropriate interventions when required.
• Safe administration of regular, when required or nurse initiated medications according to established guidelines + monitor for side effects and adverse reactions.
• Utilise critical thinking skills to prioritise nursing interventions based on residents' acuity levels and individual needs.
• Prevent the spread of infections by consistently adhering to strict infection control protocols and educating residents' and colleagues on effective infection control practices.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams that may be present on site on the day of agency shift.
• Partake in evidence best practice wound management by following pre set wound management plans.
• Identify clinically high risk residents' at the commencement of agency shift such as high falls risk, comorbidities, palliating residents' or insulin dependant diabetics.
• Partake in fall prevention strategies for residents' of high falls risk throughout shift.

This role was considered a dual role whereby Care Managers undertook all clinical requirements for allocated community care consumers over the age of sixty five, as well as managed their community care government funding. Key responsibilities in this role included the following:

• Coordinat referrals to specialists, allied healthcare professionals and Queensland's Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT).
• Conduct quarterly infection control assessments for all care staff to ensure high quality hygiene and infection practices were being maintained within the community.
• Advocate for consumers' needs, rights, and preferences throughout the care management process, empowering them to make informed healthcare decisions.
• Facilitate communication between consumers, families, healthcare providers and ACAT to ensure continuity of care across multiple settings.
• Manage community care government funding packages ranging from level one to level four funding based on clinical needs.
• Develop individualised care plans to promote consumer-centred treatment goals and overall wellbeing.
• Reduce hospital readmissions with comprehensive discharge planning and follow-up support for consumers' and families.
• Provide ongoing education for consumers and families regarding disease processes, treatment options, self-management strategies, and available resources for support.
• Conduct in-home visits to provide comprehensive clinical assessments such as falls risks, pressure injury risks, skin care assessments, wound care assessments and reviews of consumers diagnoses' and medications when required.

This clinical role required staff to attend shifts at one of Sundale's residential aged care facilities - James Grimes Care Centre. Key responsibilities of this role included:

• Conduct thorough resident assessments when required and collaborated with regular treating doctors' and multidisciplinary teams regarding clinical findings.
• Conduct ongoing monitoring and evaluation of behaviours and conditions, and update clinical supervisors with current information.
• Partake in comprehensive documentation to ensure residents' records were updated and relevant care was being provided.
• Attend regular medication rounds.
• Identify decline in current medical conditions, consumers cognition, increased risk of falls and pressure injuries and relay assessment findings to clinical nurse (CN) on shift.