My head has been spinning lately. I have just come through an intense week of work and study. Things are changing for me in the workplace and it has involved a very steep learning curve.After nearly two years of working in the aged care facility, I have now started doing Home and Community Care (HACC) as well. I'm working for the same organisation, but it's run from a different office with different staff, so it actually feels like a completely new job.
I had my orientation a couple of weeks ago - three days of training and joining other workers on their shifts to see what they do. This week, I had to go out and do it by myself.
I should confess, I have never really been that interested in becoming a HACC worker - I always said I'd prefer to work in the facility. I'm not the most outgoing person; I like to be the quiet member of a team and let others do the leading. In keeping with recent changes at work though, I agreed to be brave and learn both roles.
It looks easy enough ... we've all seen the cars in our neighbourhoods, and there are so many different companies doing it - Blue Care (formerly Blue Nurses), Ozcare, RSL Care, Kin Care, etc. The car pulls up, a worker gets out and goes into someone's home, does some cleaning or maybe helps an elderly person with a shower, and then they leave. Simple, right?
I was very nervous driving to the first client on my own (although I was in a company car - much more modern than mine - so that was a nice treat!). It's daunting, going up to someone's door and hoping A) that they know you're coming and B) that they're friendly. I got out of the car, carrying my bag with all the paperwork, went through the gate and rang the doorbell ... and got no answer. Nothing at all. I tried the doorbell again. Still nothing. I walked, cautiously, around the side of the house, the whole time thinking, 'What do I do next?' I had the client's phone number, but wasn't sure whether I should ring it. Then, when I did, there was no answer. I went back to the doorbell and tried it one more time, as well as knocking on the door. Finally, I rang the office for advice.
The scary thing about being a HACC worker, at least to start with, is the feeling that you're out there completely on your own. In a facility, if you have a problem, you can just ring the buzzer in a resident's room and someone else will come to help. You know that there will be a co-worker close by if you need them.
When it comes to visiting people at home, my mobile phone is like my buzzer ... and what a lifeline the office is! In the case of that first client, they kept me on the line while they tried her number as well. Then, when there was still no answer, they rang a contact person who lived nearby to bring a spare key and let me in. They stayed on the line with me the whole time. When we got into the house it turned out the client was still in bed, without her hearing aid, happily sleeping through all the commotion. What a relief! I had begun to worry that my first experience in HACC would be discovering someone had passed away.
So, it was an eventful beginning to my new role at work, and the start of a very busy week - staying on top of all the paperwork, sticking to a timetable that doesn't always allow for jobs running over time or busy traffic periods and trying not to get lost on the way to some of the more rural clients. Between everything I was learning and providing client care (including housework) in some extreme heat, I was pretty exhausted by Friday afternoon. It was good though, and certainly something I'm happy to keep doing.
I have some 'normal' shifts in the facility coming up this week and I am looking forward to them ... it feels like I'm going back to something comfortable. However, I enjoyed Community much more than I expected to and I think, with more experience and confidence, I could come to really enjoy being a HACC worker.
