Nursing home nurses need support to update skills.

More than 10% registered nurses now work within the nursing home sector. This study investigated the level of employer support received by 41 nursing home nurses attending a seminar and the difficulties they faced in continuing their professional development. Nurses in the study stated that patient dependency and workload had increased and their training needs had risen. Almost two-thirds of the nurses attending received no employer support; the same proportion found it difficult to access professional education that was related to the needs of nurses working within nurse-led units. Almost two-thirds anticipated difficulties in meeting PREP requirements. The report discusses the implications of those difficulties on recruitment, retention and quality of care and concludes by recommending further research; government action to encourage links between universities and nursing homes and funding of PREP.