An Overview of the Job Description of a Direct Care Worker
A direct Care Worker is a person who helps disabled sick or old people in their day-to-day physical requirements. A Direct Care Worker can be of many types depending on the type of help and support they give.
(1) Personal Assistant: Provide safety and comfort by helping with their daily requirements.
(2) Home Care: A Direct Care worker offer services like cleaning, bathing, cooking, shopping.
A home care worker also assists people with taking the medication at the right time, helps the disabled people to do daily activities, offer support, companionship and security.
Qualification and Skills Required
There are no special requirements to become a Direct Care Worker but a person who has experience in providing health care to senior citizens is most preferred. A direct care worker needs to be physically fit.
When a candidate is employed as a direct Care worker, some training is provided on the job. A candidate desirous of becoming a direct care worker can acquire training from the community colleges that offer courses in developmental disabilities and nursing help.
A direct care worker needs to know how to-
(1) Position a person with a disability on various types of beds and chairs.
(2) He or she should also know how to help the concerned persons in bathing, brushing and grooming.
(3) A direct care worker must have an ability to use fire extinguishers in case of a fire.
Necessary Skills-
A direct care worker needs to be very friendly, patient and affectionate to serve people properly. Since a patient or a person with a disability interacts mostly with the home care worker, the direct care worker should be supportive and motivating. Good communication skills are necessary for a direct care worker.
Professional Growth
A direct Care Worker can specialize in the fields such as in case of Home Care Aide, Nursing Aide or Personal Health Aide.
The demand for direct Care workers is likely to increase, as an increasing number of people do need physical (Medical) help. The occupation of a direct care worker is third among the fastest growing occupations. This kind of growth is higher than the number of direct care workers available at present.
