geriatric nurse
Birgitt Betzelt
You would like to become a geriatric nurse?
Then send us an Email. If you are going to school, ask your teacher. You can also ask in the job centre or the employment agency. If you have a mentor he or she will certainly be able to help you with this. Or you can ask directly in one of the nursing homes - here is a map.
How can you become a geriatric nurse?
You can learn from us. You don’t have to study at a university for that. Instead you do a vocational training with us. This contains school lessons as well as normal work with someone who is good at this job already. The training takes three years and you get a salary.
School report?
To become a geriatric nurse you need 10 years of school education and a secondary school certificate. If you don’t have that yet, you can also become a geriatric care helper as a first step, it just takes one year. For this you need 9 years of school education and a certificate of secondary education. It’s like an assistant for geriatric nurses. You can’t do quite as much and you get a salary that is a bit smaller. After that you can do the geriatric nurse training, but only for 2-3 years - after 3 years you will also be a geriatric nurse. Even if you haven’t graduated school there are possibilities, for example an internship. Just get in touch.
Status?
For vocational training your status as a refugee isn’t so important. If you are a recognized asylum seeker, there is no problem. Even with a tolerated or permitted status you can apply for this job after 3 months - but the foreigners authority has to permit this. There is one exception: if you come from a safe country of origin, like Serbia or Ghana, it is not possible to do the training. During the vocational training you will get a safe residence permit status. With this you will be allowed to stay in Germany for that time.
What do geriatric nurses do?
Geriatric nurses look after old people who no longer manage by themselves. They give medicine, help with eating, take care of the housekeeping or help them to wash themselves. Also, they give injections and are responsible for the well-being of the old people. Usually they work in special homes where many old people live. Or they are part of a team and drive to the homes of old people. The length of the stay varies - sometimes only a couple of minutes, sometimes longer. The work hours are similar to those of a hospital nurse.
What do I have to be able to do?
Speak German as good as possible! You have to speak a lot - with teachers, your supervisor and especially with old people. Reference levels A2 or B1 aren’t enough. If you can’t speak German well enough yet, we often provide language courses. These run during your vocational training and will help you learn German. The courses vary depending on the city and nursing home you are in.
Is geriatric nursing a good job?
Yes, geriatric nurses are very wanted in Germany, there are many available jobs. You will always have work and will make good money. If you like working with people, you have come to the right place.
Contact us!
We are looking forward to you.
Email: pflegeintegration@caritas.de