top 10 reasons to become a health care aide · experience as a health care aide as a stepping stone...

REASONSTO BECOME AHEALTH CARE AIDE

TOP 10

Are you seeking an exciting career in the health care industry?

Then a Health Care Aide program at a certified Career College might just be for you.

The role of the Health Care Aide is a very important one in our society. They are an important part of the front line health care provider team.

It’s an opportunity to apply your love of the medical field and your desire to help people. If you’re wondering if this is the right career for you, read on.

Becoming a Health Care Aide is an honourable and challenging endeavor. Once you start the journey towards a rewarding career in this profession, the possibilities for your success in life and career are endless.

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3ABM COLLEGE TOP 10 REASONS TO BECOME A HEALTH CARE AIDE

The demand for highly qualified Health Care Aides recently graduated from an accredited Career College is very high. At one time, Health Care Aides were trained on-the-job, but provincial governments now have stricter standards and new regulations that protect both the patient and the Health Care Aide, so only individuals with training from a certified institution can be hired.

That could be in a variety of settings including hospitals, community clinics, nursing homes, long term care facilities, rehabilitation clinics and addiction centres, group homes and even in home care.

After a short but intense training program lasting 20 to 23 weeks depending on which Career College you choose, and a hands-on practicum that will take five weeks, you could be on-the-job and earning a great income in just over five months.

Graduates of certified Health Care Aide programs can also be employed as client care attendants, home support workers, residential aides and personal care givers.

As a Health Care Aide, you will work collaboratively with other medical professionals, such as nurses and therapists,

as part of an overall health care team.

In addition to launching you into a full-time career, you’ll be eligible for a higher-than-minimum pay grade. Depending upon the province in which you will be working, you may be required to join a union, which can offer you other financial benefits and job security.

Pay scales can range from $19 an hour to over $24 an hour, depending upon your experience and depending upon your employer. How much you can earn also depends upon your availability and work preferences. You may choose to work full-

time, part-time or be an on-call Health Care Aide. Some positions are permanent and some may be on a temporary basis, and your schedule may include a combination of day, evening, nights and you may work weekends and holiday shifts for which you would likely be paid more.

In addition to a higher income upon graduation, you will likely be eligible for paid vacation and other benefits such as paid sick time, supplementary health and dental coverage, vision care, and other insurance benefits such as life insurance, accidental death, short and long-term disability.

1.GET WORKING

4 ABM COLLEGE TOP 10 REASONS TO BECOME A HEALTH CARE AIDE

Obtaining your certification as a Health Care Aide is a fantastic achievement. As a program graduate, you can start your career as a Health Care Aide almost immediately. Once you are working and have some experience under your belt, you may feel you’d like to move on to another aspect of the health care industry.

Perhaps a parallel career as a therapist, or a Recreational Aide. You could even use

your certification and job experience as a Health Care Aide as a stepping stone to become a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) and maybe one day, a Registered Nurse (RN).

Starting with a Health Care Aide Program is just one way to achieve those goals, and often in less time than it would take by participating in conventional education at a post-secondary institution.

It provides you with a sound foundation of the

requirements to care for individuals in a hospital, care facility or in a private home.

Working as a Health Care Aide will fine tune your skills in working with people and understanding the basic principles of patient care.

Once you have worked a prescribed number of hours, you may choose to continue your education in the health care and medical field. The future is yours and the possibilities are endless.

2.SOLID BASE


Those who succeed as a good Health Care Aide and gain a certain level of personal satisfaction from their job will have some basic personal and also unique qualities. To be a successful Health Care Aide you should enjoy working with patients/clients who need extra care and attention.

Do you have empathy for others? When a person is uncomfortable or even in pain, do you respond with kind words and an urge to help or relieve their condition? What fantastic attributes to have!

A good Health Care Aide will treat patients with

dignity no matter what their circumstances and issues.

A caring and nurturing health care aide will be compassionate and non-judgmental.

It is highly recommended that you have a steady and emotionally stable personality type, as a Health Care Aide must be strong for those who are not.

Are you calm in the face of chaos? If you can orchestrate order when events take a sudden turn then this is another personality trait that is highly desirable in a Health Care Aide.

Another skill for this, and actually any career choice, is good communication which includes speaking to patients and listening to them.’

As the bedrock member of a good health care team, you are your patient’s voice to others and his or her best advocate. Communication with members of your health care team is essential.

You must be able to follow directions given to you without a problem. Between the patient and the head of the health care team, a Health Care Aide is the glue that holds it all together.

3. RIGHT PERSONALITY

A good Health Care Aide will treat patients with dignity no matter what their circumstances and issues


Children have played doctor since doctors were invented. You will see them take turns being the patient and the doctor. Some will even be the nurse. Perhaps you played this game as a child and it’s always been your desire to work as a health care provider. The human body is a remarkable machine, and if you view it as such with an intense curiosity as to how it works and how it can be manipulated or even fixed, then you have an immediate aptitude for the world of health care.

With so many options for information via television and the Internet, it is easy to spend hours mesmerized by all the medical information available to you. You can watch videos on child birth, open heart surgery, organ transplants, eye surgeries – whatever you want to know or see, is available to you 24 hours a day. If you seek out this type of information, then you may want to take your learning to a whole new professional level by contacting a Career College and inquiring about the Health Care Aide program.

Do you have lots of questions whenever you’re in a health care setting because you’re curious about what is going on around you? For

example, medications and the effect on patients, the diagnosis process and patient outcomes and why certain therapies are prescribed and how they relate to a patient’s recovery. Curiosity is an important attribute of a health care aide because it shows you have concern and a desire to improve a patient’s circumstances and prognosis.

Take that keen interest in human anatomy and the function of the human body and let it serve you by furthering your education at a Career College in the Health Care Aide program.

4. INTERESTIN MEDICINE


Most everyone has been given medical treatment of some type. From a simple check up at the doctor’s office to a stay in the hospital. How you are approached from the first hello at the front desk to leaving upon discharge will shape your opinion of health care providers and the institutions in which they work.

A kind, caring, compassionate and competent person sets the tone for patient care and the

patient’s experience.A top notch Health Care

Aide will have a positive impact on a patient and their attitude toward health care. Perhaps you have benefited from the gentle manner, kindly touch and genuine concern of a Health Care Aide and feel inspired to provide that same care to others.

On the other hand, perhaps you have been witness to great medical care and have been profoundly and positively affected by

watching someone you love be professionally and compassionately cared for by an adept Health Care Aide.

An elderly parent, a disabled cousin, a friend recovering from a trauma of some description.Being in the presence of someone providing extreme care can make you aware of the shortcomings of the human body and how excellent health care personnel are worth their weight in gold. That person could be you.

5. POSITIVE EXPERIENCES

A kind, caring, compassionate and competent person sets the tone for patient

care and the patient’s experience.


Exposure to the field through volunteering is the perfect introduction to becoming a Health Care Aide. You may be one of the thousands of people who join humanitarian relief organizations and discover their life’s work through volunteering. This may include following behind first responders at disasters here at home, such as fires and floods. Perhaps you were part of the relief efforts and discovered it brought out the best in you. An experience such as this could lead you to furthering your professional training as a Health Care Aide so that you can be even more effective in your efforts should another volunteer opportunity arise.

There are many other volunteer roles that aren’t on such a large scale. There are volunteers at hospitals, long term care facilities or rehabilitation clinics, and recreational programs for people with limited mobility or a disability. As a volunteer sharing your time and skills in these types of programs, you may have discovered a hidden talent to serve others and improve the quality of life for people. If the seed has been planted, then you may be ready to take the next step

to growing your career by becoming a Health Care Aide.

Are there other areas where you have discovered a passion or a calling to help others? Those types of opportunities may include meal time and eating assistance programs for the elderly, church services and spiritual programs or care, helping others through community gardening and cultural activities where people need extra care and attention. There are also non-profit organizations which provide first aid to the public at events such as football games and running marathons, administered by trained volunteers. If you have been

involved in an organization such as this then consider a step up into working as a Health Care Aide and making a living of something that excites and motivates you.

By donating your time, energy and talents as a volunteer, you will also gain valuable experience in working as a team. Should you choose a career as a Health Care Aide, you will be expected to work as a team with other health care professionals. Your prior volunteer experience in providing care as a team makes you a very desirable candidate and you’ll find the transition to your program very smooth.

6. VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE


Health Care Aides are a vital part of health care teams around the world. When health disasters strike abroad, qualified and trained health care professionals are eagerly sought after and are very valuable to the global effort to restore health to the region.

However, if you look around your own community and perhaps even within your own family you may see the need even closer to you. With an ever increasing number of people living longer yet unable to fully care for themselves, there will exponentially be an increase in the need for qualified Health Care Aides.

Advances in medical science have also meant decreased mortality rates

among mentally and physical disabled people. Babies born with congenital abnormalities are now being saved at birth but require care throughout their lives. Sometimes, the difference between survival and true quality of life is the care provided to them, and once again, Health Care Aides play a very important role in assuring that quality of life for people who can’t fully care for themselves. If there are people in your community or within your family that require this care or are receiving quality care from a trained Health Care Aide, then you can appreciate the enormous contribution Health Care Aides make in our society.

If you follow current events,

then you will know that society as a whole is pushing towards transparency and open discussion of issues surrounding mental illness. Tolerance and understanding of mental illness is quickly becoming the norm, and as society learns more about mental illness and how it can be managed, the profession of Health Care Aide will become more revered and more valuable. Again, it comes back to assuring the quality of life for individuals who cannot fully care for themselves, and in the case of mental illness, that is not always due to a physical limitation.

Perhaps you are one of the lucky people who can speak more than one language. Speaking English is necessary to enrolling in a Career College, but if you can speak Cantonese, Mandarin, Farsi, Punjabi, French, Spanish, German – whatever language; imagine the value you would have not only to a prospective employer but to the people you serve. With so many diverse cultures in our society, speaking to an individual in their mother tongue would only add to the comfort they feel while being with you and being looked after by you as a successful health care aide.

7. RESPONDING TO NEED


A family legacy of working in the health care industry can be a powerful incentive to follow in the footsteps of those you admire. Perhaps there’s a doctor in your family, or nurse even a paramedic. Maybe a dentist or other medical specialist. Sometimes those early and direct conversations with family members can cultivate your desire and curiosity to follow in their footsteps. Or, maybe those same family members have expectations of you. Expectations from family members can be powerful or they can be a curse. Only you can decide. You want to choose a career in which you and your family can take great pride in. A career that is fulfilling and will give you a great sense of accomplishment.

Many people who decide upon a health care aide program have found themselves in a similar situation, in which a mother, father or grandparent was a doctor or nurse and enjoyed a long and illustrious career. But they felt pressured or unsure as to whether that was right for them, until one day another family member developed a serious illness. Often you will hear Health Care Aides say

that the legacy of health care in their family and a desire to help a loved one overcome their illness was the tipping point.

If you have made a promise to yourself or to others that

you would choose a path where you can be a great influence in someone’s life by helping them physically and emotionally, then give serious thought to becoming a Health Care Aide.

8. FAMILY LEGACY


When you have a natural aptitude or ability to do something, that’s a sure sign that you are meant to be doing that activity. For example, if you can look at a person and instinctively know what they need, whether it’s hands-on care, reassuring words or prompt and professional medical care, that’s a good sign that being a Health Care Aide is right for you.

Natural ability can also mean instinctive knowledge when it comes to equipment. There are many assisted devices and new technologies that Health Care Aides would use while caring for their patients. That includes adjustable beds, wheelchairs, walkers even medical devices such as intravenous pumps, insulin pumps – the list goes on and on. If you have great dexterity, are good with your hands and have an eye for assembling things or trouble shooting, you are already one step ahead in your career as a Health Care Aide.

Counselors in high schools, or coaches and advisors at career centres and employment programs often administer aptitude tests or questionnaires which assess a person’s personality, ability and strengths in particular

areas. Often these tests will point a student or career candidate in the direction of social services and justice. Under this umbrella lays nursing and jobs in the health care industry.

If you have ever taken one of these assessments and have been told this might be a career choice for you, it probably deserves some attention. Another core strength that could be revealed during this process is problem solving. Can you look at a situation and see how it could best be fixed or solved? It’s a skill that not every person in

the world has, and completely applicable to the success of a good Health Care Aide.

Was science one of the subjects in grade school that you were good at? If this subject came easily to you and biology was of special interest to you, this is another good sign.

The physiology of the human body is a key element of a Health Care Aide program at an accredited Career College and if you come to the program with a good understanding of this, you are a step ahead and ready for success.

9. CAREER PROFILE


You’re a person who enjoys people. You seek out people and enjoy the company of others over being alone. You show genuine interest in others and care about who they are and what happens to them. Being a people person doesn’t always mean that you’re the life of the party or that you possess great charisma or personality. It doesn’t mean you can tell great jokes and can talk people into doing things or buying things. It just means you truly enjoy people and aren’t shy about meeting them or finding ways to help them.

When you truly care about others and love to visit with them, then they enjoy your company. A Health Care Aide works very closely with others. It is helpful when you can initiate the conversation and make people comfortable, especially when you are working with them so closely. It is always a professional relationship but it can become intimate, and if you’re the type of person that can quickly win over the trust and affection of your patients, then being a Health Care aide would perfectly suit your personality type. Gaining the confidence

of people is a key element in this career and using your positive influence are qualities that would serve you well. Imagine, if you will, a patient who is not interested in receiving his medication. Sometimes it’s a friendly manner and a winning smile that warms even the hardest heart and calms the fears of the patient that is just coming to terms with his new found dependency upon you. A people person with a great personality is the perfect candidate for a successful and profitable career as a Health Care Aide.

10. LOVE OF PEOPLE

top 10 reasons to become a health care aide · experience as a health care aide as a stepping stone...

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