What Skills Do You Need To Be a Care Worker?
Care Careers Tips
The role of a Care Worker, also known as a Care Assistant or sometimes a Healthcare Assistant, is varied, where no two days are the same. They play a vital role in supporting people throughout their everyday lives, and it's one of the most fulfilling and rewarding careers in care. If you've ever wondered 'what do care workers actually do?', we explain the role of a care worker, what skills you need, their day-to-day responsibilities and how to become a care assistant.
What is a care worker?
A Care Worker helps vulnerable people to live happy, independent and fulfilling lives through providing practical and emotional support. The day-to-day duties of a Care Assistant can vary depending on the needs of the service user, encompassing a wide range of care roles.
Care Workers can also work in a variety of different settings. There are different types of Care Assistants, such as Domiciliary Care Workers, Clinical Support Workers and Children's Support Workers. Your responsibilities can vary depending on the type of job role you choose. You may work within service users' homes as a home care provider, within a care home or a day centre, or out in the community as a community care assistant. You also may work independently or as part of a team.
The role of a Care Assistant is an incredibly important and rewarding one in the field of care work, as you are improving the quality of life of our service users, keeping them safe, helping them to achieve their goals and most importantly, making a positive difference in their lives and overall health and wellbeing.
Care workers provide the physical and emotional support that someone might need to achieve their goals.
A care assistant helps vulnerable people to live happy and independent lives.
As a care worker, you may find yourself working in a number of settings. You may be expected to work in people's homes providing home care, in health and social care settings such as supported living services or care homes, and out in the community.
What does a care worker do?
Now you know what a Care Assistant is, you may be wondering 'what does a Care Worker do?'. The care assistant role and responsibilities can be different every day, but overall you will be providing physical and emotional support to a service user and their families. This may include:
- Helping with household tasks, such as tidying, or helping with paperwork.
- Monitoring their healthcare needs, this may be medication management or checking their temperature.
- Helping with everyday tasks, such as meal preparation or food shopping.
- Liaising with other professionals, such as doctors or nurses, to ensure consistency of support.
- You may help with personal care.
- Understanding a service user's communication needs and adapting your communication to each person, using various methods such as sounds, tones and body language.
- Encouraging and supporting a service user's skills through hobbies and interests, including social activities and physical activities.
- Supporting a service user to gain employment.
- Providing emotional and behavioural support.
- Teaching and assisting with life skills, such as budgeting and paying bills.
- Delivering individual support plans and maintaining client records.
- Helping and encouraging a service user to access community facilities and be included in community groups.
- Working with a wider care team and providing family support when needed.
As previously mentioned, your role can vary depending on the path you choose as a Care Worker. For example, a domestic Care Assistant may provide care mostly surrounding helping with household tasks, assisting with life skills and everyday tasks. A Clinical Support Worker may work alongside other professionals such as a nurse, and tasks may include medication management and administration, personal care and more, depending on the needs of the service user. A Children's Support Worker will provide support to a service user and their family or caregivers. A career as a Care Worker can be extremely varied, and there are many different career paths you can choose, but it is always extremely rewarding.
