During the course many topics were covered, and in my opinion all of them are important as they configure exactly with the type of work that I am going to do in the near future. What is residential Care/Care work? Residential care /care work refers to personal care services given to children and adults unable to live independently. Responsible for providing these services are residential care workers, professionals who focus on improving the physical and mental well-being of their clients. The most three topics which I found the most relevant to the job are: Teamwork In a care home setting, team work is the key in offering consistent, high quality care to residents.
The majority of care home employees rely on one another to do their jobs effectively; the better a team works together the better results they produce. One of the first steps in helping a team work together effectively is for members to think about the benefit of being in a team. Working in an effective team often feel that there is less pressure, as things are shared. I feel that the working atmosphere is better because of the sense of pulling together, even when things are tough. This is what I call job satisfaction after a shift working together. In my opinion a good team building exercise is needed to get employees together and brainstorm benefits to the individuals and the residents .The overall team will include everyone who works in the home and often the domestic staff and catering staff will have as much of an impact on the residents, as the caring staff.
The more people you have looking at ways to improve and sharing ideas and supporting each other, the more it will benefit the home. The next step is to get the group of workers thinking like a team. Encouraging them to identify specific examples of what being a team member means.
Together we need to:
- identify how we can support each other
- Identify frustrations that crop up
- Identify what can be done, as a group, to eliminate problems
There is no doubt that a common goal is a necessity for a team to achieve anything, but in real team work everyone has to believe in that goal and support each other to achieve it. How people communicate and interact with each other to achieve the goal is what makes the difference. A ‘joined-up’ approach to care, where everyone working in the home understands they have a part to play and everyone respects the contribution of another, will set one care home apart from another. I think asking people to identify what they expect of me and each other in a team and how they should work together to achieve their goals, will help us to come up with some positive actions and ground rules that the team will abide by. Once we as a team identify these ground rules we will be far more likely to be motivated to implement them. Even changing the language people use when describing what they do, can help. Start to get everyone to think positively about the role each person plays and the difference they can make.
This will help to build respect for each other and with respect comes increased trust and co-operation. I think that self-assessment is a vital tools that can be used to help raise people’s awareness around team working and the different contributions people can make to a team Most notably every member of the team needs to feels that their contribution is valid and are proud of the part they play. Listening and communication Curiously, some people don’t consider ‘listening’ as ‘communication’. To them, it seems odd that part of communication involves being quiet. But listening is vital to good communication and is especially important. Working closely with patients/clients will often tell you important things. Indeed, some may prefer to speak to you rather than to registered staff about how they are feeling or about things that worry them, because they have got to know you, like you and trust you. I feel that this is crucial in our field of work, having trust in us makes the resident feel at ease when talking to us.
One must think also of the boundaries that need to be taken in consideration when a patient is trusting his/her personal issues with us. Although they find a friend in us, one need to seek help and advice if the information given to me by the resident may be of any harm to him or others in the residence. Hearing what patients/residents are saying means paying attention to what the person is saying and working out what it really means. And the best way to do this is to:
- follow the non-verbal communication and verbal communication Non-verbal communication includes facial expressions, the tone and pitch of the voice, gestures displayed through body language and the physical distance between the communicators. Verbal communication is the use of sounds and words to express yourself, especially in contrast to using gestures or mannerisms.
- Remain quiet, but encourage the patient/client to speak with gentle head nodding and, when appropriate, positive words (‘yes’, ‘do continue’) and simple questions (‘and how did that make you feel?’).
As you listen, try to identify key words that might sum up how the person is feeling, words like:
- frightened
- lonely
- fed up
- pain
- discomfort
- worried
When the person has finished speaking, reflect back to him or her what you’ve understood. This is an example on how to revert back the question:- ‘It sounds from what you’re saying, Mr________, that you’ve got some concerns about what others are thinking about you being in a residential home. Do you want me to contact a resident that was here lately and now is back in the community to chat a bit with you? This may make you feel much better. http://rcnhca.org.uk/top-page-001/communication-methods/listening-and-attending/ Crisis intervention Residential care staff require specialized knowledge and skills to prevent and manage aggressive and acting out behaviour. Often a residential aggression is visible through crisis episodes that leave both the resident and the care worker in turmoil.
Without proper training and supervisory support, staff can react to a resident aggression with counter-aggression; or worse, staff can respond with abusive behaviour toward the resident. As residential care worker I feel that this topic was extremely helpful as knowing how to act in certain circumstances is crucial, it is crucial for the resident and even for the carer. One needs to quickly and effectively turn a crisis situation into a positive experience by working with the young person to distract them from their negative thought patterns and behaviours. The main goal is to stabilise the resident who is struggling to cope. A caring approach is immense where the residents can feel supported and not judged – my aim is always to reach the best, most appropriate outcome for each resident who is under my supervion.
