Home care assistants career
Home Care Assistant job requires more personality traits than an educational qualification. Home care services have different roles like serving an injured person, the person with the illness, assisting the elderly, and taking care of children. Home care assistants are not the same as health care assistants. These two roles termed as one, but it is not the same. Home care assistants work in residential home care social places and also in private homes—the Health Care assistance work at hospitals. Also, the health care job requires holding some educational credentials, whereas the academic qualifications necessary for a homecare assistant are not mandatory. You can enter into this career through the social work department in your area, city health department, nursing homes, hospitals, nursing homes, and care agencies.
Homecare assistants job description
Home care job assistants will be assigned to help people who are physically unable to take good care of themself. They serve people who injure from an accident, life-long illness, and elders. The home care assistants help them physically and mentally, make them feel at peace, and find happiness in their hard times.
Home care assistant’s duties
- The care assistants will have to do the daily chores of their client’s life.
- For example, make the person shower on time. If they are bedridden, you will have to give them a good bath every day and dress them in comfortable clothing.
- Make them sit in a chair, hold them while walking, take them in a wheelchair from one place to another, and feed them food and water.
- As Homecare assistants, you will have to help them grooming, vacuuming, washing sheets and towels, changing them regularly, and doing grocery shopping. You must always keep the surroundings of the client safe and clean.
- Make a meal for them on time. You have to be cautious about preparing the food. Know what suits the person and to which food they are allergic. You have to keep them away from the food that is harmful to them. Have a note on if any food caused their side effects. It is better you know the food which doctors insist on providing to the patients and stick to the timetable.
- Medications on time. You should never missout to give them their medicine on time. You must know the types of medication prescribed by the doctor. If the treatment is over, you must know the correct one to buy. Never miss using any medication by buying different tablets, cutting drugs on giving them at the wrong time, or changing the medicine for an additional time. Know which treatment has to be present at what time. Call the doctor if you are sure about the medications before doing something you are not sure.
- You must have a record of the person’s physical and mental health. Check if the person’s health is being improved or is getting worse. Then, report all the changes you have been seeing within the person to the doctor. The changes you notice must be limited to physical appearance; it also includes a difference in the person’s mental health, mood swings, and observing what makes them feel disturbed.
- Assist them with their exercise and make them do it regularly. For example, you can take in the fresh air, go for a walk, and take in sunlight for a few minutes every day. By doing this small thing, you can improve their health for the better.
- You must never lose the date of the doctor’s appointment. Take them to their appointments on time, and you will have to arrange the transport for every checkup.
Assisting them with the medications, exercise, and doing home chores is not enough. You will have to engage with them emotionally. Always be there with them when they need someone to talk about something, listen to them, and talk about the kind of stuff they enjoy hearing. Play indoor games, games that they can play easily. You can try out games like card games, puzzles, painting and reading their favorite books, and watching movies together. Engaging in these kinds of activities will make their brain more active, and these activities will improve their mental health.
Home care assistant salary
The pay home care assistants receive is honestly low. This job is about finding joy in oneself, helping others see the possibility of joyous and be satisfied with serving people who need love and help. As a beginner for this job, you will get around $ 16,000 to $ 17,000 a year. A person with few years of experience or if they have been working for years they might get paid about $ 25,000 to $ 30,000 a year. Pay on hourly would be around $ 14.00 to $ 16.00. The hourly wage may be different for an entry-level care worker and a person with experience and many credentials.
If you wish to earn more in this career, there are few things you can try out. Home care assistance is allowed to do overtime; you can work weekends and do few more hours of work after your regular shift time. The home care assistants have the permit to work for more than one client at a time. So, if once your shift got over, you can work for another client or you can also do part-time. Holding credentials in social care works, courses in caregiver will be a plus point in your resume.
As with other professions, home care assistants will not be guaranteed any benefits or perks. As I have mentioned earlier, this is the job of serving people with satisfaction. As benefits, you will be given paid time off on certain days, coupons for shopping, bonus pay, and gift cards on festivals. Some agencies and companies can offer the care worker insurance plan, dental insurance, life insurance, 401 k plan, and retirement plan.
What are the requirements for a Home Care Assistant?
The requirement to become a Home Care Assistant is limited. It is not mandatory to hold a high school diploma or college graduation degree. But you might as well have a little inquiry on which agency, social work department, or the company you are hoping to apply to. Some places might hire a candidate who holds few credentials like, high school diploma, a person who took a caregiver course, volunteered in any social works, or any caretaking experiences.
- High school diploma or GED
- Voluntary social works
- Knowledge in CPR.
- Skills in providing first aid.
- You must be physically strong to help the person sit and carry them to bed.
- You must be available to work if the client needs you in an emergency. You have to be there for that person, regardless of night, day, or if it is even your day-off.
Homecare Assistant interview questions
- Why do you want to be a home care assistant?
You can answer the question by stating your personality traits and how that is more relevant for the care assistant duties. For example, how the job gives you joy and taking care of people is not a burden. Therefore you find piece doing that.
- Do you have any experience in taking care of an injured, sick, or person with illness?
If your answer is no, then you will be disqualified from the job. Even if you don’t have any professional work experience as a caregiver, you can mention your personal life experiences. For example, if you have looked after anyone from your family, then you can say that. On further questions, how you took care of them? You can tell about how you took care of them, the basic things you followed, and what you learned from the process.
- How will you be handling your client who is worried or angry?
You might have to think and give a clear answer to this question. To handle a client, you will have to know them personally and understand what they are going through. You have to be empathetic to the person, instead of saying to them not to be worried or not be angry. By understanding, they will feel safe and trued around you, and it will be easy solving their problems.
Frequently asked questions
What is the time duration for completing a caregiver course?
The caregiver course period will change depending on the school. However, on average, the course may be taking around six to twelve months to finish.
Can I work as Home Care Assistant with no qualification?
Yes, you can get a Homecare assistant job without any qualification. They are no necessary to hold any college degree or a high school diploma. But in some states, they might ask for homecare course completion certificates, high school diplomas, or any voluntary social works.
What are the qualities of home care assistants?
For a homecare assistant, your personality is more important than the list of professional credentials you possess. You must be humble, caring, respectful, patient, friendly, reliable, loyal, and empathetic.
Do I have to take a drug test for a Homecare assistant job?
No, the company or the agency you, In addition, some first, check hired does not take a drug test for the Home Care Assistants. But under any suspicion that his report on the assistant, they might conduct a random drug test.
