Care Worker - what's it really like?

doodlesmum

I started working in a nursing home when i was 21 then about 4yrs later went into community home care had a change for a couple of years where i worked with adults with learning difficulties in a residential unit.I then went back to community care and i am still doing it now at 39 and i do it because i love my job
I work with elderly service users but i also work with Adults with learning difficulties as a support worker for the same agency that i have been with for past 7yrs i work with a great team and i really enjoy it.

To be a care worker you need to have patience,compassionate nature and also be able to cope with emergency because they can happen and you need to be able to keep a calm head .It is a job you have to want to do if people go into as a means of solely money it hardly lasts because of the nature of the job.

It can be physically and mentally demanding but at the same time very rewarding you get to meet people from all walks of life with various life stories,you can also get the odd service user who may be grumpy or hard to pleased but you find ways to cope

Doodlesmum.

ShelBell

Hi,

I did this job for 4 years, and enjoyed most of it. The one part that really got to me was the time pressure from the agency. For example, they would squeeze 2 x 1 hour clients in to 1 hour, expecting you to do them in 30 minutes each. With no travel time. So in a 4 hour evening I could easily be expected to do 6 clients, each 5-7 miles apart, all of whom have paid for 1 hour of care.

Mealtimes are the most stressful, as most of the clients want their lunch for example between 12noon and 1pm, and there aren't enough carers to go around! So the clients would be unhappy to be having their lunch at 11.30am or 2.00pm.

Clients families were often a pain in the neck. I am all for involvement and keeping an eye on staff etc, but I would go to one lady who lived with her son and his family, and the daughter in law would want us to do her ironing while we were there!

Abusive attitudes I found rare, more frustrating was clients who really shouldn't have been alone in their own homes still. One lady used to regularly buy and eat tins of dog food, one lady had an obsession with feeding birds and there would be bread everywhere around the house going mouldy.

Good companies make the job, ask about travelling time and clients receiving their full time allocation. Also ask about travel expenses as you can clock up a fair few miles.