Case study taken July 2021
What attracted you to this job?
I knew I was a caring person and when you are leaving school you need to choose what you want to do, but I always knew I wanted to work in the Health and Social Care sector.
Tell me a bit about your current job and what it involves
I am a Support Worker. I am currently looking after a young lady to go to school and to help her live as independently as possible. This includes things such as doing activities with her and supporting her to see her family. This isn’t my first job in care. I have previously worked as a Clinical Support Worker and as a Domiciliary Care Assistant.
What training have you received to enable you to do your current role?
Prior to this role I had to do medication training which is regularly updated. Recent training that I have completed which has been very relevant to my current role is Positive Behaviour Support, which I felt I really needed. There are times when you are faced with challenging situations, and it is helpful to understand the reasons why someone is behaving in a certain way and the best way for you to correctly deal with it. By doing this you can then work out how to de-escalate it or even prevent it to start with by using proactive and reactive strategies.
What support have you received from your line manager and team?
I feel like I get a lot of support from my team. I am the key worker, and my team are very supportive to help with my workload, for example when I am on annual leave. I have a very supportive manager who always encourages me to go onto the next step and I am about to start my Level 4 qualification in Adult Care. She is always trying to push me further which is really positive and just what I need.
Would you like to progress in your career and if so, what would you like to do next?
Yes, the next step for me would be to become a Senior Support Worker. I really would like to get into management in the future but will need further training to achieve this.
What are your hours of work and how does this fit around your personal life?
The hours vary and I can work 12 hours one day and 14 hours another depending on whether I am going into a sleep in. It’s important to get the right balance and when I have days off, I make sure that I do something to relax, or something that I enjoy doing so that it feels like I am having time off.
In your day-to-day role, how do you enable clients to live as independently as possible?
I always give her a choice of things she can do then give her some time to think about it. In addition, when I am supporting her, I make sure I do not do it for her, as I believe it’s important to always give the opportunity to do things for themselves.
For example, when I first started looking after the young lady I am currently caring for, she couldn’t put on her shoes and tie her shoelaces, but now she can put the shoes on and tie her own laces as she has been shown how to do it and has practised doing it for herself – it was a proud moment for both of us!
What do you enjoy most about your job?
While we all go to work to earn money, for me, I am doing a job that I really love, and I am getting paid to do it – It doesn’t feel like a job! It’s so rewarding watching the progress of someone you are caring for and seeing them achieve things they haven’t done before.
What do you find the most challenging part of your role?
That’s really hard to answer as I don’t feel any of what I do is that challenging, its more about being faced with a situation and learning how to deal with it. You get the training and skills to be able to do your job well and cope with any challenges.
What would you say to someone who has never worked in care before?
I would say to take things slowly, maybe do some volunteering or get some work experience. With regard to doing personal care, you can shadow someone until you feel comfortable doing it, but when you have gotten to know someone, it does become a lot easier.