Pflegecoach – experienced nurses coach newcomers
Those who settle in well, stay.
Experienced nurses help new colleagues find their feet in day-to-day work. We train them for this role: free of charge, funded by the ESF Plus, tailored to your organisation.
For home care services, long-term care homes, hospitals and specialist clinics – regardless of size or legal form. Run by Innovation Pflegen together with the Internationaler Bund (IB). The programme itself is held in German.
Sources: Federal Employment Agency, Blickpunkt Arbeitsmarkt – Pflegeberufe (May 2026); Federal Statistical Office, recognition of foreign qualifications 2025.
The Pflegecoach role
Pflegecoaches take pressure off managers and practice instructors. Practice instructors are there for trainees; the induction of new colleagues usually happens on the side. The Pflegecoach gets a named role and dedicated time for it.
Part of the team
Pflegecoaches are permanent team members and pass on experience in everyday work – over months, not in a single instruction session.
Complementary
They do not replace practice instructors; they work alongside them.
With a future
A role for experienced nurses from around 50 – possible with few hours and, if they wish, beyond retirement.
Who becomes a Pflegecoach
Experienced nurses, mostly from around 50, with many years in direct care. They bring what no course can teach: knowledge that is written down nowhere, networks built over years, and an attitude you can only pass on by example.
Taking part is voluntary and we choose participants together. Nurses with their own migration background are explicitly welcome. Participants receive a certificate of completion.
Who they support
- Newly qualified nurses – well trained, but new to carrying responsibility.
- Internationally trained nurses – after recognition, it is about professional language, the team and belonging.
- Returners and career changers – relearning routines and ways of working.
Scope and timeline
- Months 1–3
Preparation
Clarify needs, name a contact person, select nurses.
- From month 4
Training
Training starts; the first newcomers are supported.
- Ongoing
Trial
Learning, exchange and practice go hand in hand.
- At the end
Routine operation
Evaluate what works and anchor the role for good.
What you contribute
- a fixed contact person in your organisation
- depending on size, 2 to 10 experienced nurses who volunteer
- release from duties, realistically planned in the rota – not on the side
- backing from management and openness to looking at your own processes
What you get from us
- free training and a certificate for participants
- a curriculum developed together with you
- a task and role profile for your organisation
- templates, checklists and a learning platform
- exchange with other participating organisations
This is a pilot project, not a ready-made course. We develop scope, rhythm and learning groups together with the organisations taking part. After the project ends in August 2028, we will continue to offer the training outside this funding.
Small care home, small home care service? Get in touch.
You do not need ten Pflegecoaches to take part. We deliberately build groups in which Pflegecoaches from several organisations train together – regionally or mostly online, across care sectors too.
An organisation that starts with one or two Pflegecoaches tries the role under real conditions and then decides whether to expand it. Starting small is not a half-hearted start – often it is the smarter one.
Let’s talk
Whether you have questions first or want to discuss taking part: write or call us. A first conversation takes about 60 minutes and commits you to nothing. You can join now or in 2027; places are limited.
Lars Arendt · Innovation Pflegen · lars@innovation-pflegen.de
Project partner: Internationaler Bund (IB), a non-profit provider of youth, social and educational work.
Das Projekt „Erfahrene Pflegende coachen Neulinge in der Pflege“ wird im Rahmen des Programms „Wandel der Arbeit – sozialpartnerschaftlich gestalten“ durch das Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales und die Europäische Union über den Europäischen Sozialfonds Plus (ESF Plus) gefördert.
The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the European Union through the European Social Fund Plus (ESF Plus) under the programme “Wandel der Arbeit”.
