Personal and Home Care Aides work in patients’ homes and rooms, helping disabled, elderly, ill, and mentally disabled and disturbed persons live in their own homes or in residential care facilities.
They provide housekeeping and routine personal care services, as well as instruction and psychological support to their patients. They may advise families and patients on nutrition, cleanliness, and household tasks.
Aides keep records of clients’ conditions and services performed and report to a supervisor, who is often a registered nurse (RN). They also assist and cooperate with health care professionals and other medical staff.
Personal and home care aides hold over 700,000 jobs. Most jobs are in home health care services; individual and family services; residential care facilities; and private households. Self-employed aides arrange work schedules, payment, etc., on their own.
In some states, one needs only receive on-the-job training, which is generally provided by employers. In other states, formal training may be required. This is available from community colleges, vocational schools, elder care programs, and home health care agencies.
The National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC) offers national certification. Certification is a voluntary demonstration that the individual has met industry standards. One must complete a standard 75-hour course and a written exam developed by NAHC. A registered nurse evaluates home care aides seeking certification on 17 different skills.
State-mandated tests, such as for tuberculosis, may be required as part of a physical examination. Criminal background checks are also sometimes required for employment.
Personal and home care aides must be able to:
* help people and not mind hard work,
* be responsible, compassionate, emotionally stable, and cheerful,
* be tactful, honest, and discreet,
* work independently,
* follow detailed instructions,
* lift patients without straining or injuring themselves.
Because of rapid employment growth and high replacement needs excellent job opportunities are expected. Job growth for personal and home care aides is projected to grow much faster than average for all U.S. occupations.
How Much Do Personal and Home Care Aides Earn?
Average hourly earnings for personal and home care aides were £18.12 in May 2024. Pay ranged from less than £15.93 per hour up to more than £30.87 an hour.
A Day in a Personal and Home Care Aide’s Life:
On a typical day, a personal and home care aide will:
* clean clients’ houses,
* do laundry, and change bed linens,
* plan meals (including special diets), shop for food, and cook,
* help clients get out of bed, bathe, dress, and groom,
* accompany clients to doctors’ appointments or other errands,
* help patients with dentures and oral care
* advise families and patients on nutrition, cleanliness, and household tasks,
* assist in toilet training a severely mentally handicapped child,
* listen to clients talk about their problems,
* keep records of services performed and of clients’ condition and progress,
* Report the client’s condition changes to the supervisor or case manager.
I hope this article gives you a good idea of what is involved in the career of a Personal and Home Care Aide. Health care is the largest industry in the world. In the U.S. about 14 million people work in the health care field. More new wage and salary jobs are in health care than in any other industry. (Some figures from the Bureau of Labour Statistics.)
Useful UK Care Career Resources
- National Careers Service – Care Worker Career Profile
- Skills for Care – Care Worker Roles and Responsibilities
- GOV.UK – Care Workforce Pathway for Adult Social Care
- GOV.UK – DBS Checks for Adult Social Care Roles
- Care Quality Commission – What to Expect from a Good Home Care Agency