Careers in Senior Care: Roles on a Retirement Campus

Working in senior living

A campus that offers independent living, personal care and skilled nursing needs many kinds of staff. The Attleboro Community in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, kept a careers page listing openings across its three buildings. This page uses that archived list as an example of the roles found on such a campus. It is not a live job board, and no application route or compensation details are given here.

Roles by setting

Independent living (Attleboro Village)
– Dietary and food service staff, working part-time or full-time. The community’s food service was run in partnership with a contract catering company, and kitchen applicants applied through that firm.
– A part-time licensed practical nurse (LPN).

Personal care (The Brunswick at Attleboro)
– LPNs on evening and day shifts.
– A part-time resident assistant.
– Dietary and food service staff.
– A staff development LPN, a role that supports residents, nurses and colleagues. The ideal person is organised, detail-oriented, a team player and comfortable working with residents, physicians’ offices, vendors and families. Long-term care experience and at least a year of training or staff development experience were required.

Skilled nursing (Attleboro Nursing and Rehabilitation Center)
– Registered nurses on full-time, part-time and pool bases, across all shifts, including weekend and twelve-hour shifts on the rehabilitation floor. Experience was preferred.
– Certified nursing assistants (CNAs) on full-time and part-time schedules, including long twelve-hour shifts.
– A registered nurse unit manager, a salaried post, preferably with long-term care experience.
– Dietary staff, as above.

Support services
– Security guards, housekeepers and a housekeeping supervisor, mostly part-time.

What the archived listings emphasised

The campus said its approach centred on “commitment to caring”, with a spirit of cooperation that benefits both residents and employees. Full-time positions were described as coming with a benefits package. The company stated that it was an equal opportunity employer.

Considering a career in senior care

For people thinking about this field, a few points apply to nearly every campus:

• Licences and certifications vary by role: nurses need state licensure and nursing assistants need certification.
• Shifts are often scheduled around the clock, so flexibility matters.
• Long-term care experience is valued but many roles welcome newcomers.
• A multi-level campus can offer room to move between settings.

To learn what residents of each setting need, read about independent living, personal care and skilled nursing.

Typical duties by role

The job titles on the archived list correspond to everyday tasks that are similar across senior care settings:

• Registered nurses and LPNs assess residents, give medications and treatments, coordinate with physicians and supervise aides. A unit manager adds scheduling and quality oversight for a whole floor.
• Certified nursing assistants and resident assistants help with bathing, dressing, mobility and meals, and they are often the people who know residents best.
• Dietary staff prepare and serve meals that meet nutritional needs and personal tastes, a central part of life in any community.
• Housekeeping and security teams keep buildings clean, safe and welcoming, which supports both health and comfort.
• Staff development nurses train and mentor colleagues so that care plans are followed consistently.

Choosing an employer

People weighing different campuses may find it useful to ask about orientation and training, the ratio of staff to residents, how shifts are rotated, what opportunities exist for advancement and how the team handles busy periods. Visiting during a working day is a good way to see whether a place feels cooperative and caring. A campus that offers several levels of care, as this one did, gives staff chances to learn across independent living, personal care and skilled nursing without changing employers.