Work with the elderly

Working with the elderly can be challenging but amazingly rewarding. Think you’ve got what it takes?

BY LOUIS ASHWORTH

Jobs relating to working with elderly people range from visiting care worker to geriatric nurse. Working with older people can be tough and requires incredible patience and empathy. Enabling an elderly person to live comfortably and happily can make a huge difference to their life and a visit from a care-giver can be the highlight of their day. In return, care workers benefit from elderly peoples’ unique perspective on life when they freely share their wisdom and fascinating life stories. Being a good carer will give you great pleasure and job satisfaction.

As far as job security goes, care workers are always in high demand. Whilst nursing requires completion of a degree and formal qualifications, working as a care assistant usually doesn’t require educational qualifications. If you are interested in working with the elderly and would like to see if it’s the job for you, there are lots of opportunities for volunteers. The care sector relies on the help of voluntary workers – some of whom do care work alongside their main job. Contact care homes in your area to find out more about opportunities to volunteer.

As an elderly care assistant you’ll earn around £12,000 a year and work standard hours (37-40 a week) but be prepared to work some unsociable shifts, i.e. nights and weekends. Responsibilities include forming relationships with clients to gain knowledge of their needs, assisting them with daily, personal care like washing and eating, helping with medication management and organising leisure activities for individuals or groups.

Caring for elderly people offers strong opportunities to develop your personal skills, like doing first aid, food hygiene and customer relations courses and training programmes. Many of the skills you’ll learn are transferrable which is always very appealing to future employers. Carers can also gain qualifications whilst working, such as the Diploma in Health and Social Care or Awareness of Dementia.

If you start as an elder care assistant, you can progress in your career towards becoming a team leader or a care home manager. Through working with the elderly, you’ll be able to offer person-centred support and will gain a thorough understanding of the principles of safeguarding and extensive knowledge of the role of health care workers and the important job they do.

Nurses who specialise in working with elderly people do a vital job that is both challenging and fulfilling. Catering to the needs of the elderly can be complicated, but the relationships forged between patient and client can be enormously satisfying. To find out more about work with the elderly, check out our health and social care section.