CBRF

If you're thinking about getting your start in your nursing career by working in a community-based residential facility (CBRF) you're likely curious about what this type of work entails. Let's take a look at what nurses need to know to work in a CBRF, including information on completing a patient care assistant program.

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The definition of a CBRF allows for many different types of facilities to fall into this category. A CBRF can be small, with as few as five patients, or quite large, with as many as 257 patients. All patients must be over the age of 18, and all must require no more than an intermediate level of nursing care. Another key factor in determining whether a home falls into the CBRF category: none of the residents can be related to one another. A CBRF provides patients with supervision and care in daily activities, and can help people who are of an advanced age, dealing with dementia, dealing with intellectual differences, and other issues get the nursing and other care that they need while still living a fairly independent life.

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As a nurse in a CBRF, there are many different activities for which you may find yourself responsible. You may dispense medications to patients, and keep records of any controlled substances that are used in the home. You may provide patient care, and talk with patients about health concerns that they're having. You may also be the liaison between patients and their doctors, helping to determine when a patient needs to see a physician. You may also help patients with some of their daily living activities, and keep staff members at the CBRF updated on any health needs of patients in the home.

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Many organizations that operate CBRFs have more than one facility. While you may only work with individual patients for a few hours each week, many CBRFs employ several nurses to ensure that all of their patients get the healthcare that they need. One of the benefits of working in a CBRF is that you get to know your patients over time. Some patients stay in the same CBRF for years, or even decades. This allows you plenty of time to get to know their patients and their health issues. As you likely already know, continuity of care is an excellent predictor of patient outcomes, and by working in a CBRF, you get to provide your patients with top notch healthcare on a regular basis. Many nurses who work in CBRFs find high job satisfaction, as they get to see their patients grow, learn, and overcome issues over the years.

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If you're interested in working in a CBRF, you may want to think about whether you'd like to work in a general facility, or if you're interested in working within a specialty. You may choose to work with adults with learning differences, or you may want to solely focus on older adults. If you prefer to stay in a more general scope of practice, it may make more sense for you to work with a CBRF that accepts patients with a variety of healthcare issues. Working with a CBRF allows you to delve into a specialty in nursing, if you so choose, and can set you up for further education and/ or certification within that specialty.

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When you're thinking about moving forward with your nursing career by getting your CBRF healthcare training so that you can work in a nursing home, you're showing that you're someone who cares about providing the best patient care possible. At R.E.A.L. Nurse Educate, we're here to work with you to ensure that you get the healthcare training you need to take your nursing career to the next level. Whether you're looking for healthcare training though a patient care assistant program or you're looking to begin your nursing career with a CBRF certification, we're here to provide you with all of your nursing training. Reach out to us today to learn more about how we can help you take the next step in your nursing career.