Thinking of becoming a carer? The team at Better Healthcare explains why care work can be a challenging yet rewarding career path.
Care work is considered by some to be one of the most rewarding career paths that a person can take. Sure, being a carer isn’t without difficult days – but that’s true of all jobs. What makes care work different from other career paths is the level of fulfilment and job satisfaction that many carers experience. If you love to engage with and help other people, have great social skills and get a buzz out of brightening another person’s day, then care work is definitely a place where you can utilise and develop these skills and abilities.
People who generally get into care work – whether home care, live-in care or specialist care – simply enjoy supporting and enriching the lives of others. One survey in 2018 by CV-Library, the UK’s top independent job board, asked how carers measured their career success. Nearly 90% of carers highlighted their job satisfaction as the most important factor, while over 80% of carers measured it by the fact that they were making a difference in people’s lives. Whether this is something you agree with and/or you’ve found that your current career isn’t ticking these boxes, care work might be the job for you.
With there being a constant need for care workers in the UK for the foreseeable future, it’s also a secure career path that ensures long-term employment opportunities.
If you’ve not decided on a career path yet, or if you feel that you need a change from the path that you’re on, we’re here to walk you through what it’s like to work for a company like Better Healthcare Services as a care worker.
What it takes to be a carer
People who become care workers often have a certain set of qualities and abilities. Some may use words such as ‘considerate’, ‘kind’ or ‘selfless’ to describe this type of person. Those with the qualities of a good carer are often concerned with how people are feeling and what they can do to make other people feel happier and better about themselves.
Our carers often have excellent social skills. That doesn’t mean they have to be the ‘life of the party’; it just means that they ‘get’ people. They enjoy conversing with others and are good listeners. A significant portion of people who receive care – such as elderly patients who live alone – don’t get to see people as often. As such, care work isn’t just about performing physical tasks – sometimes it can be providing emotional support with some chitchat over a cup of tea!
They are also people who take pride in their work and can be trusted to respond to whatever a situation requires intuitively. As carers are often working with people who are in a more vulnerable state, it’s crucial for them to be responsible and trustworthy. We want our clients to always feel safe and secure, so our carers play the primary role in ensuring that this is the case in home and live-in care work settings.
If all of this sounds like you, or like someone you aspire to be, then we’d love to hear from you.
What qualifications and experience do you need to be a carer?
While specialist care services require more extensive qualifications and training, entry-level care work doesn’t require any specific qualifications. With that said, many employers prefer applicants to have an NVQ in Levels 2 and 3 of Health and Social Care and to have undergone First Aid training. At Better Healthcare, we provide extensive and ongoing training to all our staff to ensure they can be the best they can be.
We’re far more interested in you as a person and your capability to learn rather than your qualifications. While the experience of being a care worker – whether in a professional or personal capacity – is positive, we believe the training, education and personal development of our care workers are critical we are providing our clients with the proper care and support that they need.
What types of care can care workers provide with Better Healthcare?
There are several different career paths within working as a carer for Better Healthcare. These include:
- Home care: Making daily visits to clients and helping them in their homes.
- Live in care: This involves living in a client’s home and giving them the support and attention they need, day and/or night.
- Healthcare: Providing care for community and health organisations on a permanent or temporary basis.
- Social care: Acting as a social care worker for NHS trusts, local authorities, housing associations and charities to provide support for families, young offenders, those with learning difficulties, homeless people and more.
- Specialist care: Providing specialist care and support for adults and children with long-term clinical needs, such as traumatic brain injuries, dementia, multiple sclerosis (MS), palliative (end of life) care and more.
While specialist care requires a certain level of care experience and qualifications, other forms of care are more accessible to those with little to no prior experience of care work.
What does a carer do?
While there’s a perception that care workers just help people get around their home or get washed and dressed, the reality is far more detailed and varied. Here are some things that you should expect to help clients with daily:
- Personal care
- Washing and getting dressed
- Preparing and cooking meals
- Going to the shops to pick up shopping
- Providing companionship, having a chat and going on the client with outings
- Supervising medication intake and collecting prescriptions from the pharmacy
- Light housework and gardening
- Accompanying the client to doctor and hospital appointments
While some of these tasks can, at times, be challenging, it can be enriching to know that you are helping someone get through the day. This is particularly true if you are providing home or live-in care as you have the knowledge that you are supporting someone to allow them to live as independently as possible in their own home.
At Better Healthcare Services, we’re committed to providing the best care possible to our clients. If you agree with that goal and want to help people, then we want to hear from you. Being a carer is a rewarding job that involves constantly learning and challenging yourself to be better.
As training is such a huge part of what we do, you don’t need to worry about not having the right qualifications – we’ve got you covered. After all, if you are the type of person we’ve described above, then you’re already halfway to becoming a great carer. With the tools that we provide to you, you can rest assured that we’ll help take you the rest of the way.
We have several offices and clients located in Eastern and Southern UK that require people with the dedication and qualities to be excellent carers. This means there are likely positions available close to where you live and suited to you – whether that’s live-in care in Norwich or home care in London.
To find out more about how to become a care worker, simply give us a call on 0800 668 1234 or visit the Latest Jobs page today.
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