Home care assistants help disabled or elderly people with personal care, medical assistance, and social services. They may work varying hours and require skills, training, and a compassionate personality.
A home care assistant is responsible for taking care of a person who is forced to stay at home. Disabled or elderly people are especially in need of assistants who can help them in their everyday lives. Home care assistants are not just limited to doing just one type of task, but a variety of them.
Some responsibilities of a home care assistant can be grouped under hygiene and personal care. Sometimes patients find it difficult to do the simplest things like going to the bathroom, drinking a glass of water or even walking. The assistant therefore steps in and helps the patient to follow his daily routine. This may include showering, changing clothes, eating, and getting ready for bed. Caregivers should also be aware of the usual and scheduled activities that the patient is used to, such as drinking a glass of milk before bed or going to the park every Tuesday.
Medical assistance is also part of the duties of a home care assistant, particularly when dealing with the elderly or people with unstable medical conditions. The assistant must know how to check the patient’s vital signs several times a day, change dressings on wounds, and operate certain machines. She must also ensure that medications are taken regularly. Along with these responsibilities, a home care assistant also has the authority to call the doctor if unexpected and unusual situations occur.
Social services may also assign a home care assistant to act as the children’s guardian. This can often happen when it involves inappropriate and abusive parents. The assistant can be a mainstay at home, monitoring the parents and their treatment progress and recording all activities at home. She can also keep in touch with the teachers to see how the kids are doing outside the home. Sometimes the assistants went above and beyond to do housekeeping, like laundry, cooking, and cleaning.
A home care assistant’s work hours may vary according to the patient’s needs. Some work only during the day, others during the night, and some even remain permanently with their patients. For all the responsibilities imposed on him, a home care assistant needs a lot of skills and training, as well as a healthy mindset to be able to perform his tasks well. She must also possess traits such as patience, compassion, and empathy, as the job requires the assistant to be sensitive to her patient’s needs. A friendly personality is also an attribute that benefits both the patient and the home care worker.
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