Experiences of registered nurses as managers and leaders in residential aged care facilities: a systematic review

Overall the themes presented in the review reported the negative experiences of nurses in residential aged care and geriatrics. Nurses will continue to be devalued if there is no professional identity and support for their roles and need to have a career pathway when making the decision to enter into aged and geriatric practice. Clinical leadership training is needed for nurses to transition through practice into specialised roles such as the RN team leader and Geriatric Nurse Practitioner (GNP). Providing a career structure and choice in the industry for the nurse to become a clinical leader or a manager of health services will improve recruitment and retention. IMPLICATION FOR RESEARCH: More research is needed to identify the skills gaps experienced by nurses in aged care and geriatric care. This research could lead to the design and implementation of a skills audit to identify candidates for specialised courses so that clinical leadership and governance in aged care are improved. More research is needed for role construction and the professional development of the GNP. Organisations can benefit from research currently being conducted on the role of the RN in aged care and geriatrics, by mapping the skills mix of candidate RNs to the key performance indicators in the role. Organisations must change their perception and value of RNs as clinical leaders in care teams.