If you’re thinking of a career change, have you considered working in a care home? With any job you expect to receive a range of benefits. The care sector encourages you to progress in your career, helps you to feel secure, and you can receive an enormous sense of personal achievement from knowing you are helping other people. If this sounds good to you then care homes such as Extra Care who look after the elderly can offer you just that and many other benefits too. Whether you are looking for a career change, wanting to return to the care sector, or starting your working life, this list may help you to make up your mind when deciding if working in care is right for you.
The sense of working to help others
A job in care revolves around looking after elderly people who are in need of extra help in everyday tasks including bathing, eating, getting up in the morning and getting undressed at night. At the end of a working day, you can go home feeling good that you’ve made someone else’s day a lot easier.
Satisfaction
Relatives of patients will often visit, when they see the effort you are making to help their loved one they often thank you for your help and dedication. They may even send you a Christmas card during the festive season. These small gestures give you a sense of satisfaction that they are happy with the job you are doing and make you feel appreciated, which you don’t always get from other jobs.
Developing personal skills
Working with a range of different types of people with illnesses or disabilities, on a day to day basis, allows you to develop your personal skills. You can learn and adapt to deal with a range of situations, learn how to speak to people depending on their personality and keep their loved ones updated on how they are doing.
Training and development
Care homes offer opportunities for you to develop your knowledge of different aspects in health by offering training and sending you on different courses. You can gain qualifications that will develop your knowledge in the likes of Dementia and Alzheimer’s etc., which will allow you to learn how to act in unfamiliar situations. The more training and qualifications you earn, the more doors will open to other job prospects in the health sector.
You can make friends for life
You can make great friendships with those you work with and those you look after. Many of the patients appreciate what you are doing for them and see you as a companion or friend. They’ll often question you on your own life and be eager to find out more about you.
Shift work
In many care homes you work long twelve hour shifts but in return you get more days off in a week than you would if you were working a nine to five job. This is great for those who need flexibility. You can also take on overtime for those months you need some extra cash.
