Working in aged care is a more fulfilling and challenging role than most professionals assume before entering the field. While there is a long list of aged care coureses such as certificate III ,diplomas, and other training programs one can take to prepare for a flourishing career in aged care, the individual still has to work on her/his behavioural traits.
Such traits are not explicitly listed on every job application. But, when you become an aged care professional, you are expected to exhibit these traits. Not having one or two of them would not get you pushed out of your job but having them all will make you a more likable candidate across jobs and roles.
So, if you want to have a fruitful career in aged care, here are the behavioural traits you should focus on:
Sense of Responsibility
It is straightforward to get intimidated by the number of responsibilities one has to take care of while working in aged care. Most young professionals are directly responsible for taking care of several members of the senior care community. With medicines, personal care, and health check-ups scheduled now and then, it can seem like a lot of work for some people.
You can either take this pressure upon yourself and then try to figure out how to process it. But if you have a strong sense of responsibility, you will look at it as a set of duties you have undertaken. Such responsibilities have a direct impact on an aged person's life. And people who tend to have a sense of responsibility for their work in senior care are also the professionals who would go the extra mile to make the lives of aged people in their community easier.
Also Read: How an aged care courses benefits a nursing student's career
Empathy
You don't have to sympathize with every aged person you meet. That may make you seem presumptuous and will not help you in building a bond with them. Instead, it would be best if you focus on developing empathy. It helps you in understanding a situation from the other person's perspective.
For instance – when you are checking an aged person's blood pressure, you are looking at it from the perspective of an aged care worker doing her job. When you think about it from the aged person's side, you will realize how critically important it is to have this process executed in a friendly manner. Such insights can help you work on your approach and make it more tailored to the aged people's needs around you.
Adaptability
Since Australia's professional standards tend to be relatively high, you would be expected to work only for a scheduled set of hours in a day. However, aged care mostly includes people who are at a high rate of health risks. Such people can need professional help at any point in time.
Professionals who tend to succeed in aged care have an excellent understanding that even though their schedules, roles, and responsibilities are clearly defined, they still have to go beyond the dotted line and help the people when they need it. This may include adding ad hoc responsibilities or working for long hours on some days. But as far as you are adapting to the situation, you would have a strong chance of succeeding in this area of work.
4. Respect for the Elderly Community
While this may seem like an obvious trait to have, it will establish the right context when used in conjunction with the next trait in the list. Understand that the people you are taking care of have lived through for several decades and have seen a broad set of ups & downs in life. As a professional, when you develop respect for their age and experience, you can humanize them instead of looking at them as just patients or people who need care.
Having more respect for the elderly community will also help you quickly form bonds with the people you are taking care of. Make sure you are not trying to be reverential about everything; otherwise, you would not be able to take a stand and refuse some of their uninformed demands. Focus on the span of life they have been through, and you will naturally develop enough respect for them.
Also Read: Resume, Cover Letter, and Interview tips for aged care certificate holders.
Patience & Persistence
It goes without saying – if you are working with children or in aged care, you will need patience. Unlike adults working in an office, most of the people you interact with on a daily basis are not working with an incentive. You are practically helping them in living a regular life. And in doing so, a brain that has functioned a certain way for decades can be adamant enough to get in the way of you taking care of it.
Thus, it becomes critically important to be mindful of the fact that patience is the key to ensure you are able to work with peace. Persistence, on the other hand, will help you keep up with your work contributions, no matter how challenging it becomes for you to deal with certain people. Eventually, if you use this trait in your work, you will have greater peace of mind while still performing at very high standards.
Supportive Nature
You are essentially a part of someone's life. And, in order to make it work, you should have an inherent trait of being helpful, caring, and friendly. Such characteristics allow individuals to understand the purpose of their work and work with greater engagement. It provides them with the right perspective when they are working with aged people. And at its core, it helps them develop other traits like empathy, respect, patience, and a sense of responsibility.
In Conclusion
While this is certainly not an exhaustive list, it can help you become a better aged care professional. Being a professional in this area of work can be challenging for people who do not exhibit traits or for people who do not use these traits to use at work. As you become more conscious about these traits, you will naturally start gravitating towards them and building upon them in your work.