A Certificate IV in Ageing Support will open numerous career paths for you in aged care services. Aged care courses are an excellent way to start working as a community service provider or in a reputed senior care facility. These specialized courses will help you gain theoretical knowledge and sharpen the practical skills that will help you provide unconditional support to elderly citizens.
Aged care courses not only train to care for the elderly but also offer work placements for the students to gain on-the-job, real-world experience.
This course includes a wide range of topics associated with aged care. These subjects involve empowering and supporting the elderly to lead independent lives and providing proper care to people with dementia. Apart from this, you will also learn about palliative care and how to maintain cordial and adequate contact with carers and families of the elderly.
Working in aged care services is a rewarding career path. This career path is perfect for those who love supporting others and are compassionate. You must be patient, calm, and cool while working with aged care clients. In addition, you must maintain clear communication with them and their family members to provide optimum support.
When you work in this industry, it is imperative to work on your problem-solving skills and physical health. There will be situations where you will need to carry out some heavy lifting for your clients.
Head over to Let’s Get Care if you are interested in aged care facilities.
What Careers Can You Join After Completing Aged Care Courses?
Here are some career paths you can follow after getting a certificate in aged care.
Residential Care Worker:
As a residential care worker, you will be employed in a nursing home or aged care facility that supports older adults. In this job, you might be required to undertake basic care tasks like dressing or showering, assisting with transportation or outings, or coordinating with other elderly support services for the clients.
In addition to these basic duties, you also have to support the patrons emotionally by encouraging them to engage in hobbies and social activities and keeping in touch with the client’s other carers and families.
Personal Care Worker:
As a personal care worker, you must help the elderly with their day-to-day activities and recover from any illness. For instance, you must assist them with personal hygiene, household chores, and mobility support.
Apart from these, you might also need to carry out the following chores:
- Housekeeping tasks: preparing and cooking meals, vacuuming, eating assist, dusting, mopping, tidying the house and closets, and more.
- Caring for the client’s personal hygiene, continence aids, oral and physical hygiene, and much more.
- Manual assists lie transferring from the wheelchair to the bed and helping in and out of vehicles.
Aged Care Team Leader
You can also work as a Care Team Leader with the proper aged care course, leading a team of carers for elderly assistance. These carers might have to provide support at residential care facilities or the client’s home.
You will have to supervise the work quality of the team members and see if they are assisting the elderly with their daily activities properly. These chores include cooking, cleaning, and taking them out for doctor’s appointments or social gatherings.
Apart from supervision, you might also have to attend to staffing issues like rostering and training to ensure that the team members stay updated with the latest caregiver and medical practices for elderly adults.
Community Program Coordinator
In this job role, you will be facilitating services and supporting elderly adults required to live their life independently. Under this job role, you will work closely with the clients and their families to plan care programs in a community setting or in their homes. Here are some other duties you will have to carry out in this career pathway:
- Taking care and maintaining medical and clinical records of the patron
- Developing a customized care plan for the client in collaboration with other caregivers, the family, and the patron themselves.
- Ensuring easy access to medical personnel and emergency clinical services.
- Complying with current guidelines and legislation in place for elderly care and support,
- Tracking and measuring the performance of individual patient care plans.
- Advocating on behalf of the clients and their families.
In Conclusion
Suppose you are interested in pursuing Certificate IV in Ageing Support. In that case, collecting information on the course providers is essential. While the core material remains the same, there will always be some differences between the different course providers. Understand these differences, compare them, and select the right institution to get the certification from.
The demand for skilled workers in elderly care and senior support services is high. Hone your skill, get the certification and start walking on this rewarding career path.