I'm away! So excited to finally have donned the uniform and got out there meeting the people I'm going to be helping. Technically speaking they are the 'service users' but they're all just lovely people.
So I had to 'shadow' another carer for 16 hours minimum so they can see that I'm OK interacting with people and am going to give a good standard of care. It may sound straight forward but believe me these are people's lives I'm playing with. One mistake may be more than stupid. I've asked to do a couple more days before I go it alone - just so I'm sure I know exactly where I have to be and what I have to do. You'd be amazed how much you have to cram into half an hour ( I struggle to get myself out of bed in that time let alone someone else!)
My main role is day to day care. That varies from person to person. Some need help to get dressed, go to the toilet, shower or make a cup of tea. Others just need checking up on once or twice a day - imagine if you had no family and you were the other side of 80? You'd want to know someone was out there wouldn't you?
Most people that ask me about this job are obsessed with toilet talk! Yes I have to deal with all that stuff but trust me when I tell you that it doesn't bother me in the slightest - nor does it bother anyone else in this job. Let's face it - if you were afraid of heights you would have a job tiling roofs would you?!
My one real surprise is how quickly people have accepted me. And just how quickly they've all become a part of my life. I went to bed last night wondering how a couple of them would be this morning - and thinking about how I could position a clock for another to make their life easier. You could say I'm absolutely hooked.
As jobs go I think I've chosen something else that's going to be a way of life not just a job. Right now that's a life I'm happy to have.
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