Looking after people who are ageing, by providing caring support and respect can be an incredibly rewarding occupation for many.
In-home care provides aged care services for people who are ageing. It also provides a very rewarding career path for a person who is compassionate, caring and dedicated to helping others.
If you’re passionate about caring and making a difference, are dedicated to helping others and a good communicator, then the care sector could be the ideal career for you.
Keep reading to learn more about aged care support and why so many people choose this rewarding career pathway.
What is In-home Care?
In-home care is different from nursing home care in that trained care staff go into a person’s home and assist them in maintaining their health and independence for as long as possible.
When a person is in their own home, they are often more comfortable, surrounded by familiar things and stay healthier for longer. Thus, the goal of in-home care is to help keep people in their own homes for as long as possible.
In-home care providers can offer care for 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.
What Does a Home Care Worker Do?
A Home Care worker cares for people as they move through the ageing process and help them retain the dignity they deserve. Their personalised care and support allow the elderly person to live in his or her home longer, and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
“Thanks to our wonderful carers who really make a difference!”
Caring tasks include:
- Accompanying clients during daily activities
- Assisting with mobility and transportation
- Food preparation and shopping
- Arranging or accompanying on social activities and outings
- Performing household tasks such as cleaning, washing, ironing, folding clothes
- Assisting with personal care and hygiene
- Performing personal care tasks such as showering, dressing, shaving, doing hair and makeup
- Providing friendship and emotional support
- Running errands, taking on outings etc
Also, assistance may be provided for feeding animals and taking a dog for a walk or medication management. In some cases, carers may even live in or be needed to stay over from time to time.
“Having visits from dedicated carers can make the day seem so much brighter.”
The Challenges of Loneliness
We know that loneliness is a growing concern in Australia, especially among the elderly. One survey reveals that 20% of people aged 75 and older report problematic levels of loneliness. This has been further exacerbated during the Covid-19 crisis, with many elderly people confined to their homes experiencing an increase in isolation and withdrawal from social activities.
Depression in older people is also not uncommon, so reliable human contact and engaging conversation is another very important aspect of a carer workers’ duties. They provide companionship that helps keep their clients healthy and are trained to look out for signs of decline in either physical or mental health.
Whatever the task, the role requires a special kind of person who is caring and compassionate at all times, with a very giving nature.
What Are the Benefits of Being an Aged Care Worker?
Working in the care industry is challenging and tiring but can also be one of the most rewarding careers for the right kind of person.
Job Growth Opportunities
Like most first world countries, Australia’s ageing population is set to grow significantly in the future.
The average age group for a care worker currently is 45 to 55 years, and so it attracts many people looking for a career change or an opportunity to return to work. Whilst currently, 80% of carers are female, there is a growing trend for male care workers.
Workplace Flexibility
Caring roles offer flexibility with both full-time and part-time opportunities. This suits many people who are juggling families, returning to work after finding themselves empty nesters, also those leaving highly demanding corporate careers for more rewarding roles with strong personal contact.
Often carers can find placements close to home, limiting travel time, which in a large city like Sydney, can be a huge advantage.
Making a Difference for Others
Often, we think of working with children when we think of making a difference in people’s lives. However, working at the other end of the spectrum with people who have experienced so much in life, have so many stories to share and years of wisdom, can be extremely rewarding.
Offering them respect and helping them maintain their dignity as their body physically declines, is just one way of giving back.
At 365 Care, we also welcome candidates with the ability to speak another language, as many of our clients speak a language other than English. Bilingual carers help the elderly clients ‘connect’ back to their native language as they get older, and this can be something that brings great comfort to them.
Working with People
A care worker must have strong communication skills, a positive outlook, a high level of professionalism, and natural empathy.
Working in the aged care industry will bring laughter, tears and lots of learning as you become an integral part of a client’s life. So, mentally and emotionally, a care worker must have the compassion needed to work with a patient struggling with the ageing process and the loss of independence. They may also be dealing with the loss of or watching the decline of a life partner.
Aged care workers need to love helping people and have a special subset of skills around physical strength. Physically, a worker needs to be able to help a patient by lifting them and steadying them and be familiar with how to use bed hoists or assist after falls.
Who Makes the Best Care Workers?
People become care workers because they love people, are excellent communicators and are passionate about what they do. They love giving great customer and personal service. Understanding a person’s needs and being able to listen is crucial, in order to be able to satisfy their needs.
A good carer should also have an interest in psychology and human behaviour. This helps assess a client’s personality, read their moods, learn their interests and adjust their behaviour and communication to suit the situation of the day.
Whilst being bilingual is extremely beneficial, carers need a competent level of English in both oral and written skills. There is paperwork that needs to be completed, clients, employers and family members who need to be communicated with regularly.
Training Requirements to be a Care Worker
Becoming an aging and adult care worker requires the right training. You must complete a Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing) at TAFE or a Registered Training Organisation. education and training overview for Australia.
You then need to complete practical training as part of the course requirements. Additional requirements are an up to date First Aid Certificate and CPR training.
At 365Care, we are offering sponsored training opportunities to the right kind of person to join our team.
Other questions to ask yourself before becoming a care worker are:
- Do you like being physically close to people?
- Do you like close personal contact with people?
- Do you like working as part of a team? You may find yourself working with a wider team of allied health or medical professionals
- Are you accurate and exact, and can report/record things correctly?
- Can you manage flexibility and change at short notice?
- Can you work efficiently in PPE (personal protective equipment) and follow safety protocols?
- Can you work unsupervised and in unstructured environments?
If the answer is YES, then you might be highly suited for a caring role.
A Rewarding Career
If you love people, love caring and helping others, can listen, understand a person’s needs, have a willingness to learn, are hardworking, reliable, committed and passionate about the more vulnerable members of our community, then we’d love to have you join our team.
Do you want a rewarding and fulfilling career in aged Care?
Watch our video below to learn more.