Emily Tooke of Elizabeth Finn Homes group talks about her life as a care home nurse and why she would never want to be anything else.

To say I have always wanted to be a nurse is an understatement!

When I started my nurse training in February 2010, my first placement was at Grove Court, in Woodbridge, Suffolk, part of the Elizabeth Finn Homes group. It was by far the most influential six weeks of my three years at university.

The standard of care delivered was second to none, the staff I met during this placement were full of passion, love and warmth and the recognition and appreciation for all staff, from management to the domestic team, was admirable. This certainly came across in the care that residents received, and the teamwork and passion was something I took with me throughout the remainder of my nurse training. 

When qualifying as a nurse in 2013, there was a registered nurse position available at Grove Court. It was fate.  I was the only nurse on my cohort who had made the decision to go straight into social care and it was a decision some of my fellow students frowned upon.  For my personal and professional development, it was the best decision I could have possibly made. To be able to deliver and oversee continuity of care was what sold it for me. Building relationships with residents and their loved ones makes nursing them so much more personal.

In 2015, I was promoted to unit manager. I loved this job and it taught me a huge amount about quality, governance and how to lead in improving quality care delivery. The following year I was nominated for the regional Good Nurse of the Year award, Great British Care Awards. I won the award and went on to the national finals which I also won in March 2018.

This was where my career really got going.  That year I joined the board of University of Suffolk Student Nurse Pre-Reg Nursing Student Voice Forum. This was to promote social care and care homes as part of the third-year final placements and my participation led to two newly qualified nurses commencing work within Elizabeth Finn. I still to this day love how much enthusiasm and fresh ideas newly qualified nurses bring to the care home sector!

I was then promoted to the position of clinical care manager for Grove Court. While in this role, the home gained Outstanding in its CQC report and Platinum in the GSF reaccreditation.  Working in such a valuable and critical role within the care home helped me to understand the path in which EFHL could go. I was always looking to try and improve things. Auditing was a key task for me and I knew that this would help improve the quality of the clinical care and the care delivery we were offering to residents.  

When the quality and compliance manager role was created in October 2022, despite now having a small child, I had no choice but to apply. I knew that the expertise I had gained around quality, governance, clinical skills and compliance would make me a great candidate. I was delighted when I was chosen for this job and enjoy the challenges and satisfaction it brings every day.

I would like all new nurses, young nurses, enthusiastic nurses and nurses who don’t yet know what their passion is to understand that the care home sector is the place to be. Elizabeth Finn Homes have helped me grow, flourish, lead and learn and I cannot thank the organisation enough for believing in me. There are career opportunities and a range of roles that at first may not seem apparent.  It is a job for life or as long as you want it and it is the most rewarding of sectors where you not only get to do what a nurse does best but to change the lives of many for the better.

Never in a million years did I dream of achieving what I have and being where I am today.