Training as a carer You can find all the important information about the 3-year training programme to become a nursing specialist here.

According to an expanded "definition" of the Nursing Association, the role of nurses is to

'the protection, promotion and optimisation of health and capabilities, the prevention of illness and injury and the alleviation of suffering, through diagnosis and treatment of human responses, and through advocacy for individuals, families, communities and populations.

You think that sounds big and complicated? But would you like to know what's behind it and what you need to learn to be able to fulfil these major tasks? - Then come and join us - we'll give you the best possible preparation.

What will you learn and what are the typical tasks of carers?

• Working independently in terms of planning, implementing, documenting and reviewing nursing measures
• Professional care on a scientific basis
• Counselling, guiding and supporting people in need of care and their relatives in health and illness issues as well as in personal and social matters
• Preparation and implementation of day-structuring measures
• Support in crisis situations and at the end of life
• Assistance with medical treatments
• Intensive cooperation with other professional groups such as doctors, therapists, social services staff
• and much more.

What else characterises the work?

• Communication
• the organisation of relationships
• Continuous professional and personal development

Job opportunities for carers

Carers are in demand like never before. Possible fields of activity are

• Hospitals
• retirement homes
• outpatient care services
• hospices
• rehabilitative facilities
• Facilities for open care for the elderly
• Specialist medical practices
• health authorities
• health insurance companies
• medical supply stores
• and much more.

Many paths - many opportunities

In addition to the many vacancies in a wide range of medical and nursing facilities in Germany and abroad, there are interesting further training opportunities that can really get nursing professionals off to a flying start. Depending on your interests and field of work, there are many opportunities for further training, for example as a ward manager or practice supervisor, operating theatre or intensive care nurse, social and healthcare specialist, quality manager, kinaesthetics trainer, hygiene specialist or palliative care nurse - these are just some of the career options. You can also go on to study nursing management, nursing science or nursing education...

The theoretical training at the Haan Catholic Training Centre comprises at least 2100 hours of teaching. We teach in a block system in which teaching phases of several weeks at school alternate with practical phases in the training care facility - for example in a hospital, a care home for the elderly or an outpatient care service.

The learning content is not divided into separate subjects, as is the case at general education schools, but rather into learning units based on care situations, giving everyone a holistic insight into the practical tasks and requirements of healthcare, nursing, geriatric and paediatric care, which are combined into the generalist training to become a nursing specialist.

The content of the teaching phases is tailored to the subsequent practical assignments so that the skills acquired can be put into practice and further developed in everyday nursing care under supervision.

The topics covered in the training programme at the KBZ include

• Being able to care for people of all ages, including prevention and rehabilitation, in different care and life situations and with different illnesses
• Nursing-relevant content from medicine, natural sciences, humanities and social sciences as well as law, politics and economics
• Be able to act competently in emergency and disaster situations
• Be able to communicate appropriately with people of all ages

but also

• Take responsibility for personal development
• Develop a professional self-image
• Participate in interdisciplinary teams
• and much more.

Lessons take place in manageable class sizes. In theoretical lessons and practical exercises, everything is taught and practised that will later be put into practice and applied in your later professional life as a nurse.

Practice - putting what you have learnt into practice:

All theory is grey. This is why the theoretical knowledge acquired in the classroom is put into practice and deepened in at least 2500 hours of training. The practical training takes place at our numerous network and co-operation partners.

During the practical training to become a nursing specialist, each trainee gets to know various departments in hospitals and retirement homes as well as other areas of the healthcare sector. These include, in particular, outpatient care services, hospices, dialysis practices, paediatric and psychiatric facilities.

Practical guidance from practical instructors and practical support from teachers at the school

During practical training, trainees are supervised by practical instructors from our practical network partners. The teachers at the Haan Catholic Education Centre also maintain close contact with the trainees during the practical phase, visit them at their practical training locations and reflect on the learning tasks together. This ensures a good link between theory and practice. Qualified, joint supervision of the trainees by teachers and practical instructors is very important to us so that the two places of learning, school and hospital, are dovetailed.

Specialist areas of practical training

Within the practical training programme, there are specialist areas that must be completed as compulsory subjects. External co-operation partners are available for departments that are not part of our network.
The long-term training plan ensures that everyone is familiarised with a broad spectrum of practical fields of work within the three-year training period and achieves the training objective in accordance with the statutory provisions.

This enables trainees to familiarise themselves with the various areas of the healthcare sector. According to the training and examination regulations of the Nursing Professions Act, orientation and specialisation assignments are mandatory in certain areas of:

1. Inpatient acute care (e.g. in various hospital departments)
2. Inpatient long-term care (e.g. in retirement homes or homes for the disabled)
3. Outpatient care (e.g. in outpatient care services, but also emergency outpatient clinics, etc.)

to be scheduled. This is carried out and monitored by the staff in our practice coordination department.

Training projects that bring variety to the normal school day are an enrichment for the curriculum. The close intermeshing of school and company-based learning is particularly evident here.

Seminar "Ethical challenges in everyday nursing care"

An ethics seminar is an integral part of the training programme, in which practical criteria for appropriate action are sought. The possibilities of modern medicine repeatedly present patients, residents, relatives and healthcare professionals with difficult ethical conflicts. In this area, decision-making and judgement depend to a large extent on professional competence. Typical questions that we then have to deal with are

• How do I treat seriously ill patients?
• How do I respond to patients' and residents' wishes to die?
• What do I need to bear in mind when dealing with the dying?
• How do I deal with relatives?
• How do I deal with conflict within the team?

The seminar demonstrates various practical approaches that are important and helpful for professional practice.

Leadership project: trainees manage a ward or care area

Within the framework of legal boundaries, trainees are to take over a ward or care area, including all nursing and organisational activities, for one week. The trainees fulfil different functions within a shift (e.g. supervising trainees or managing shifts).

They are supported in the realisation of the project by the practical instructors on site and the school's teaching staff.

A duty rota is drawn up by the trainees in advance and the distribution of responsibilities in the care of patients and residents is agreed.

The objectives include, for example, taking on responsibility, consistently practising nursing techniques and administrative tasks, working with other professional groups, problem solving, teamwork, taking on management tasks and much more.

This allows the trainees to experience what the future, responsible day-to-day work of a registered nurse "feels like". An important step in preparing for the state examination and the time afterwards.

We recommend that you complete an internship in a care facility before you start your nursing training so that you can "feel" whether this could be something for you.

Training always starts on 1 April and 1 October.

The weekly working hours are regulated by collective agreements. This also includes regular weekend shifts. Weekends are free during the theory blocks. All trainees are informed in good time about the times of practical training, theory lessons and holidays.

Trainees receive a training allowance from their employing organisation. In the case of Catholic cooperation partners, this is set out in the guidelines for employment contracts in the organisations of the German Caritas Association (AVR), Annex 7.

You:

• are interested in working with people
• have team spirit and loyalty
• are reliable and enthusiastic
• are curious and open-minded
• have motivation and initiative
• are physically and mentally fit

The legal entry requirements include

• Minimum age of 17 years
• A-levels/university of applied sciences entrance qualification
  OR a secondary school leaving certificate with a good grade point average
  OR a lower secondary school leaving certificate after year 10 or equivalent school education with subsequent completion of vocational training with a planned training period of at least two years
  OR authorisation to use the professional title in a nursing assistant profession
• at least sufficient oral and written skills in the German language (language competence level B2)
• health suitability

We recommend that you complete a nursing internship of at least two to three weeks.

Application documents

We require the following application documents:

• Cover letter
• Application photo
• Complete curriculum vitae in tabular form (chronological order)
• Copies of certificates such as school leaving certificate/current half-year report card
• If available, copies of vocational training or work references, certificates of study, proof of Federal Voluntary Service (BFD) or a Voluntary Social Year (FSJ), proof of completed work-related internships, proof of voluntary activities, e.g. in youth work, in a sports club, in a social institution.

Additional requirements for foreign applicants:

As a foreign applicant, you must first submit an application to the relevant authority to check whether your school-leaving qualification is equivalent to the qualification obtained in Germany. If you have not yet been recognised, please provide evidence in your application documents that you have submitted a corresponding application.

The following also applies to EU citizens:

EU identity card with residence permit must be available
Non-EU citizens: Work permit/residence permit must be available

You can obtain more information from the Cologne district government. The information provided by the City of Düsseldorf will also help you.

Admission procedure

Once we have received and checked your application documents, we will usually contact you within two weeks.

Selection interviews for a training place at the Haan Catholic Education Centre are conducted by appointment. We ask you to bring any missing documents and, if necessary, originals for submission to the interview. You should allow between 45 and 60 minutes for the interview.

By the way: The admission procedure does not include an aptitude test in the traditional sense. We would like to find out more about you, your motivation to learn the profession and your strengths in an interview.

We look forward to getting to know you personally and hopefully welcoming you as an apprentice or trainee.