Good morning listeners and welcome to our program “Information for New Immigrants”. Our guest today is an aged care consultant who will tell us some information about working as a personal carer. I would like to welcome Mrs Judy Lang to our program. Welcome Mrs Lang.
Thank you very much. I am very happy to be here this morning.
Mrs Lang, why is it a good choice for people to work in aged care at the moment?
Well, because there is a lot of work available nowadays. There is a bigger number of people nowadays who are old and their number will increase over the next 20 years. Our population in Australia is getting old.
And why do old people live in aged care facilities and not in their own homes?
There can be more than one answer to this question but the main reason, I think, is that because there is no one who can provide the services those elderly people need at home.
What do you mean? What do their children do?
Well, life gets too busy sometimes busy for everyone and the childred have important commitments like going to work or caring for their own children as well. They also don’t have the training required to provide care for elderly people at home. It is not an easy thing to do. That is why many elderly people move to live in hostels and nursing homes.
Can you tell us about the tasks that personal carers perform to help elderly residents?
They do so many things at work. I can give you some examples. They assist nursing staff to lift and turn residents who can’t move in bed. They give showers and shave residents. They work under supervision from the division one nurse. They help elderly people with dressing and they feed them. They serve meals and make beds. They also help elderly people to move around and communicate.
Is that all or do they do other things?
No, there are so many other things that personal carers do. The most important thing is that they make sure that the elderly person is safe at all time. You know, they can easily have falls or their medical condition can change suddenly.
What can a personal carer do if the condition of an elderly person changes?
The personal carer has to report any change to the nursing staff, especially the nurse in charge.
Can personal carers prescribe medication to elderly people?
No. They can’t. This is a job for a doctor to do. Even division one nurses can’t prescribe medication. Personal carers are often asked to give out medications to residents. They have a medication chart that has all the names of the medicines that an elderly resident needs to have and they sign the chart after giving the medicine.
And how can anyone become a personal carer?
Well, this is a very important question. If anyone is interested in becoming a personal carer, he or she must study a certificate III course in aged care. It takes about 9 months to finish but they can finish it quicker in about 6 months.
And how much do they have to study? I mean is it a hard course to do?
It is not a hard course to do but you need to have good English first. A person needs to study 14 units to get the certificate. It is a nationally accredited certificate. This means that they can get jobs anywhere in Australia.
What about the pay? Do personal carers get good salaries?
I believe it is about 19 dollars per hour. A person can get more if he or she works as casuals or work on the weekend. They get more money, of course.
And after finishing the certificate III course in aged care, what can a person do?
They can go and study a certificate IV in nursing at TAFE. This is a really good course. It takes about one year to finish. They can get more money when they get work. You see, in Australia the more you study, the more money you can get.
Do personal carers work only in hostels and nursing homes?
No, they can find jobs in other places like caring for people in their own homes. They can work in hospitals looking after elderly patients too. The best thing about working as a personal carer is that you can work any time you want, 7 days a week.
And what are some of the skills that a person should have for this kind of work?
Well, a person should be patient. He or she should have good communication skills because they will deal with volunteers, family members, doctors and supervisors too. A person should be physically fit because this is not an office-type job. He or she should be computer literate because all documentation nowadays is done on computers.
Do you think the person should have good teamwork skills too?
Of course. Teamwork skills are very important for this type of work. If you work as a personal carer, you will need to be able to talk nicely with others and work hand in hand with them.
Well, Mrs Lang, this is really good information for our listeners who would like to get jobs in Australia. Unfortunately, we will have to end our program here. Thank you very much for coming today.
Not at all. It’s been a pleasure talking to you today.
