Support work with no personal care involved

top_drawer_2

hi,

I have been invited to go to an interview with a agency for a Support Worker position. I have been looking for this type of work for awhile specifically with people with mental health issues. However, I keep finding that the role often creeps in a mention of "personal care." I am willing to verbally encourage and even help to some extent someone to wash/shave/dress appropiately but not wipe @rses, put them on the toilet or do the whole job for them as I know I would find it uncomfortable (plus I am sqeamish). Thifor me is a "care assistant" role.

I am concerned that I could end up with a job offer that involves this as part of the role. How do I go about finding out whether this is part of the role. When I have asked outright in the past, I get the feeling that they feel that I am making a fuss about nothing.

Thanks for any advice,

TD

vcrdesigns

Hi, I think technically, you would expect a support worker not to have to do personal care, but I think it varies from employer to employer. The best way to get out of directly asking the employer about personal care is to ask for a job description prior to interview. It should state in there if personal care is a required part of the job. I know that many employers put the normal..."and any other tasks required of the job" which is their way of saying, if we need to modify your job a little, we can. However, as personal care is such a big thing, I would expect it to be stated on a job description! I hope that helps a little! Good luck :-)

elsien

In our organisation (learning disability rather than mental health) support workers are expected to do personal care, we do not employ care assistants at all, and neither did my previous large organisation. If it is a supported living environment or a small group home there are no care assistants. I think you may find that care assistant roles only happen in larger residential homes, homes for the elderly and possibly people with higher health care needs. Which in my opinion is good - it means we all have to do everything, and the people we support don't have to wait around when they need help because "it's not my job."
However it can mean a variety of things according to the specific environment. We help people to have baths, wash, shave and clean teeth, but at the moment we don't have to help people to use the toilet, help women with sanitary care etc. Other homes with exactly the same job description have to be more "hands on" while some don't do personal care at all. However it is a standard part of the job description because as people move on and we get new people moving in, they may need more help, and I always make it clear at interview that if you take the job, then at some point it may well be expected of you.
Ask at interview what level of personal care is required - it may not be as bad as you think and may only involve verbal prompts or shaving. However if it is in the job description then you can't refuse further down the line if things change. If you can't face the thought, then don't take the job. It's a valid question to ask, and I'd rather you did so and we were clear from the start (because it isn't for everyone) than create later.
Having said all that, I would suggest you are more careful in your attitude and the language you use, because it is people you are dealing with, they deserve your respect, and one day it could be you. And if you find it uncomfortable, how do you think they feel, being on the receiving end through no fault of their own? No disrespect, but if I interviewed someone and they were querying what's a support worker job and what's a care assistant, I'd think they didn't understand the job they were applying for and probably wouldn't employ them.

ekkygirl

Support workers at my place are just that. It is working with teenage homeless and no personal care is needed. I can think of a mental health home where no personal care is involved and a couple where it would be needed. I suppose it depends on the level of need in the place you are going for an interview. Goods luck

danielle1977

I worked at a deaf college with autistic students-no personal care-so it is possible

top_drawer_2

I DO understand the difference in the job roles of Care Assistant and Support Worker, employers on the other hand seem to have issues with the differences though. I have applied for various jobs to only find out by dragging it out of the interviewer that personal care, possibly of an intense nature, may be required. Its not a issue of "its not my job" as that is not a client group I am willing to work with. I'm tired of applying for Support Worker positions to discover that the role is actually as a glorified Care Assistant. Maybe they believe that once they have me employed then I will bend to suit.

I am willing to work in a variety of conditions and with vary degrees of risk/issues etc but I dont do personal care. I understand one day it may be me who needs this type of care but since life doesnt run in direct roundabouts of each person getting back what you put in, then I feel that I have no worries in this area.

Surely it no different to the differences between a data inputter and a administrator position.

elsien

The support worker role isn't just a glorified care assistant though. It's helping people to manage all aspects of their lives, (physical, emotional, financial, practical, relationships, you name it) and promoting independence with whatever support they need in whatever area. I'm a home manager but because I also work on shift alongside my team I do whatever is needed when I'm there including personal care, sticking my hand down the loo to unblock it, and dodging flying missiles if someone is angry, alongside the management aspects. The role is anything and everything. Which is what I like about it.

I'm not having a go because you don't want to do personal care - each to their own. All I'm saying is that having to do personal care at times doesn't invalidate all the other rewarding aspects of the role or make you a glorified care assistant. Our support workers have to lone work in challenging situations, and be able to take the initiative and the responsibility that goes with it. I tend to find that people who have done mainly care assistant roles do not want the level of challenge and responsibility that our support worker role entails. But that goes alongside all the boring stuff like encouraging people to cook, clean and do the chores that are a necessary part of an independent daily life. It's like any job - it has the fun bits and the bits that you'd really rather not be doing. And the employer knows what they're looking for when they draw up the job description - I really don't think it's them that are confused. It's not a question of you "bending to suit", it's about you doing the job you were appointed and paid to do as specified in the job description.

Going back to your original question though. As you have decided that personal care isn't for you, then you need to check the job description and person specification carefully before applying. You shouldn't need to "drag" it out of the interviewer, if it's part of the role it should be there on the paperwork when you get the application pack, even if it's not specified to what degree. Or quite often there is a number you can contact for an informal chat before applying, where you can find out more about the specific job and its requirements, which would be a good opportunity to ask the question rather than leave it to the interview stage. And there will be support worker jobs out there that may be more what you're looking for where personal care is not required, possibly more so in the mental health rather than my learning disability field. Just don't be surprised if it crops up fairly frequently and limits the number of opportunities for you - personal care and support worker are not mutually exclusive.

watsinaname

i have been in a ' support role' for the last 5 wks ....should be changed to admin assistant. I've only had one instance of contact with a client during my time with the organisation. The job offered was support worker and was told working with clients..... Support Worker can cover a multitude of things in my experience.

doodlesmum

I do both support and community care work.When i do support work it normally involves assistance with a degree of personal care very rarely there is no personal care ie the family may do this aspect.
There may well be jobs where there is no personal care involved if you search around.
The emphasis i think to be honest is in the word support if you want a job supporting people then i think this is an issue which you will find you will come up against because most people who choose to go into any sort of support work will normally expect to assist with some form of personal care because of the nature of the supporting role.

Doodlesmum.

top_drawer_2

like I have stated ....... I have no issue with verbal encouragement and even some assistance in some areas such as helping them put clothes on/off etc but I am uncomfortable with the more intense aspect. I have just attempted to ring the place I am supposed to have an interview with tommorrow, the local office I am going too is closed with an answerphone message stating they are open 9-5pm Monday to Friday...... and having spoken to the regional office they dont know. As I have said its like pulling teeth as to what degree of personal care may be involved in the role. I'm confused now whether to bother attending the group interview as its a fair train journey away and I will have to go into work and work through to make the hours up.

TD

Shelley84

The company I work for (a disability charity) employ Support Workers - this to them is a carer. I'm called a Support Worker, but in reality I am a carer. I do personal, emotional, financial care etc.... Dependant on the company Support Worker will mean a variety of things!