A ‘Carer’ is defined as someone who provides a caring role. Both paid and unpaid carers include partners, friends and family members, and healthcare professionals who specialise in aged care, attendant care, disability support, home care, and personal care workers.
Let’s have a look at just some of the roles you could be doing as a care worker.
1. Support Worker
Whether in care homes or in the community, a support worker generally supports vulnerable people in their home on a day-to-day basis, or whenever needed, such as during the weekend or evenings. This includes cooking, cleaning, and providing emotional and social support where necessary.
As a support worker, you could be working with older people, people with learning and physical difficulties, substance misuse, or mental health conditions.
2. Advocacy Worker
This role includes supporting and advocating for vulnerable people who need to make important decisions about their lives. This includes:
· Housing support
· Disability allowance
· Medical decisions
· Financial planning
· Hospital admission
You must be able to listen to the person you are caring for, and reflect their wishes and choices for what they need and how their care is administered. By law, local authorities MUST arrange access to advocacy for:
· children who are receiving services under the Children Act 1989
· people who lack capacity to make decisions about serious medical treatment or long term change of accommodation and have no-one appropriate to represent them (this is called Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy IMCA)
· people who are affected by Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (this is called Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy IMCA DOLS)
· people who are subject to the Mental Health Act 1983 (this is called Independent Mental Health Advocacy IMHA)
· people thinking about using the NHS complaints procedure
· people undergoing the care and support planning processes within the Care Act 2014 (this is called Independent Advocacy under the Care Act).
3. Rehabilitation Worker
As the name suggests, you will support people who are recovering from illnesses or accidents, whose support needs include: budgeting and finance; social activities; daily life skills; and housing.
You could be asked to work with other professionals such as occupational therapists and social workers to ensure the right level of care for those with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, mental health conditions, and substance abuse.
4. Personal Assistant
You’ll support an individual to live as independently as possible by helping them with their day-to-day activities. This can either be in the home or within the wider community.
The role includes:
· Support with social and physical activities
· Arranging and travelling to classes and appointments
· Supporting with tasks around the home like cooking, shopping, or dressing.
· Monitoring their health and keeping track of medication
5. Shared lives care worker
Perhaps the most intimate, a shared lives care worker invites their care receiver into their home to provide the support they need. The emphasis here is to allow the person in care to bond with their carer, as if they were an extension of the family.
It generally includes all the roles as above (i.e., everyday tasks, independent living, advocating) and can be anything from a few hours a week to permanent co-habitation.
But what are the PROS and CONS, I hear you ask?
Let’s start with the many advantages of working in the health care industry, for both the carer and care receiver. Below are just a few:
1. Happy Hands, Happy Brain
Especially during a time where most of us feel disconnected from those closest to us, helping others releases happy hormones like dopamine – responsible for your brain’s reward system, memory, and pleasure sensation – allowing us to feel a flood of heightened mental wellness. This could be because we are more socially and physically active, and, naturally, seeing others happy makes us happy.
2. A Purposeful Connection
A no-brainer. We connect with people from all walks of life, enriching ourselves in the process. Care giving also helps reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation while allowing us to feel an increase in our sense of purpose and identity.
3. Gratitude Above All
Sometimes it can feel like the world grows more and more difficult by the day, but being in a position to help others means that we are automatically more fortunate than they are. By putting our skills to good use, we get to re-evaluate our own individual situations, allowing us to feel more grateful for the smaller things we already have.
4. Kindness Spreads Like Wildfire
Ever seen a video of small acts of kindness on the Internet or on social media that just warmed your heart? These things happen every single day serve as such a great inspiration to others who are also in positions to care, to give, to share. Who knows, you could be the next generous viral sensation!
5. Happy Brain, Happy Body
Remember what I said about the brain’s happy hormones? That spreads throughout the body too. By caring for others, your brain releases serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins, which are proven to relieve stress and aid sleep. These mood-boosting hormones also act as pain relievers which keep your organs happy and allow for healthy cell regeneration.
6. Heightened empathy
Always a great gift, empathy allows you to see yourself in others. Spreading kindness, even for one hour a day, will not only put a smile on their face, but will help you be kinder and more accepting of yourself.
7. Self-Love
That’s right, by showing love to your community, you show love to yourself. Showing up for yourself as a carer boosts self-esteem, self-love, and self-compassion, both by-products and pre-requisites for a caring role. It’s a win-win!
And, of course, the Disadvantages:
1. Lower Pay
When asked, most people cited the lower pay as one of the setbacks of care giving. Though they enjoyed the role, a full-time carer can expect to earn less they would in a standard 9-5.
2. Work load
Along with the lower pay, the role is very high demand and you may be required to put in more hours than you initially expected which can often lead to burn out if you aren’t caring for yourself as much as you are your care receivers.
3. Losing a Friend
Throughout the care working process, it is easy to become emotionally attached to a care receiver. Due to the nature of the role, you could also become accustomed to losing that person. Either because they need to move on to another care facility, or through death or illness.
4. Exposure to Germs
Throughout the pandemic, extra caution has been taken to limit the spread of germs and to protect both the care giver and care receiver. However, in some minor cases, this isn’t always possible, and a shortage in PPE supplies while caring for a vulnerable person could put you both at risk.
5. Challenging Patients
Another rare possibility, you could be matched with someone who either doesn’t want care (despite their need for it) or cannot comprehend that they are being cared for, as seen in care receivers with conditions such as dementia or Alzheimer’s. They can be a challenge for many reasons which can increase stress responses for both carer and care receiver.
So, I hear you ask yourself, where does Care Dial come in?
At Care Dial, we ensure that you are given the roles that are right for you, taking into account your skills, travel preferences, and hourly rate. You even get to choose your care receivers based on your personality and needs. What’s more, by signing up as a carer through Care Dial, you stay in control of how many hours you work a week. Remember, just one hour a week could change someone’s life, and that someone could be you!
Overall, whether you’re paying for someone’s meal or becoming their live-in carer, you are contributing to changing the world. You are making connections and spreading positivity. So why not sign up to Care Dial today and get the ball rolling?
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