Not everyone is cut out and has the care skills needed for a career as a care worker. A good care worker, support worker or care assistant needs to have special caring skills. A lot of these skills can’t be learned or earned but are naturally part of an individual’s personality.
There is a number of jobs in the care industry such as disability, mental health, rehabilitation and home care assistance to choose from. We at Rezoomo.com have put together the top traits needed to be an excellent care worker.
Independence
Care workers have a team leader or manager over them that they must report to. When they must go look after a person’s needs, they generally have to do so on their own. You will have to make on the spot decisions by yourself, so you need to be confident in doing this. If you are new to the care work scene you will develop this skill over time. If you are the type of person that is good at thinking ahead and planning your own responsibilities without anyone telling you what to do then this could be the career for you.
Show Respect
A key trait one must have to be a care worker is to show respect to the people in your care at all times. A care worker should realise that each person has their own needs and requirements. If you can make the people in your care feel comfortable, relaxed and happy this will help create a rapport and trust between both of you.
Patience
A key trait one must have to be a care worker is patience. You need a lot of it all day every day. In certain cases, there may be a delay in conversation or a task that should only take ten minutes might take much longer. Whatever is asked of you always make sure to keep your patience and make sure your client does not feel rushed at any stage.
Kindness and empathy
A small bit of kindness goes a long way when looking at support worker skills. Especially when you are looking at the qualities and skills of a carer. It is often greatly appreciated by patients. When a carer can put themselves into the shoes of their patient, they can really appreciate what a difference they can make.
Responsibility
Ultimately carers often have a big responsibility on their shoulders. The best carers take this in their stride and never underestimate the importance of the work they do.
They also take full responsibility for any mistakes they make and understand that nobody is perfect – taking something from errors and mishaps rather than blaming their rota or their patient.
Good listener
Unsurprisingly those receiving care have a lot of stories to tell or need someone to talk to especially elderly patients. So having good and patient listening skills is an important trait to have when caring for the elderly in particular. The best carers take time to listen to patients’ feedback and concerns but in a caring manner.
For example, in the case of home care workers, it is an area which is in growing demand. A recent report from the ERSI, “Projections of Demand for Healthcare in Ireland 2015 – 2030” demand for home care will increase by 50% over the next eleven years. So if it is a career that you feel that would suit you then it should be considered with the number of jobs available ever increasing.
