Working in aged care is not for everyone. It takes a special kind of person to care for the elderly. Personality can also play a big role – sometimes the person with the most knowledge is not necessarily the best fit for the job.
There is often a question of “quality of carers” who are working in aged care, and there are often complaints that some lack the basic skills to perform their job.
For an aged care organisation it is vital to ensure that the potential employee is qualified and adequately trained, but it is also equally important that they have other important traits such as empathy and compassion. To offer the best quality of care, aged care need to make sure that the person they are hiring will be suitable for caring for the elderly.
As we have seen recently some aged care operators do not always get it right, some however do better than others – which raises the question that maybe we are missing a key person in the hiring of staff?
The residents.
The suggestion came up recently that some aged care facilities are proposing to have residents, who are willing and able, to sit in on interviews and can help in the selection process of new employees.
A unique way making aged care more resident focused and giving them a sense of purpose and inclusion in their own home.
Giving them a choice, as well as a better understanding of who will potentially be caring for them, can make living in aged care a more enriching experience.
If residents are the ones receiving care and we want to empower older people to truly feel like this is their home, then perhaps there is merit in having resident’s sit in on final interviews when hiring carers and nurses.
The best way to measure quality of staff is ask the end user – the older person. They are the ones who know what good care looks like and many are aware of what they want.
If you can choose who is your doctor, your dentist, your physiotherapist, why can’t you choose who cares for you and your fellow residents in aged care?
The proposal would not be to have aged care residents pick and choose who can and cannot work at the facility. Rather they would be there to “represent” their fellow residents in the process.
There is no doubt some fine tuning that would be required as an organisation, before aged care facilities began adopting it more readily. And presumably this would be a group decision and would not come down to the resident alone to make the final choice.
It’s about allowing them to have a say, involving the residents and being inclusive. This, potentially, may also reduce the number of complaints about employees if the residents were involved with the hiring process.
Residents are the ones receiving the care – they are the ones experiencing the qualities and attitude that make up a good carer.
What do you have to say? Comment, share and like below.
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We have entered the person centred care and consumer driven care era. Older people in residential care facilities (their home) should certainly be able to have input and representation into who works with them in their home. If you think about it ….if you were looking for a private cleaner or babysitter you would like to know who you are letting into your home and who you are entrusting the care of your children too. It is no different . Unfortunately with the crisis and staffing issues in residential care we need better screening processes. We also need a national register. This was one of the recommendations in the Australian Law Reform Commission report on the law reforms into Elder Abuse which was launched at the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on the 15/06/17 by the Hon George Brandis QC Attroney General. Let’s not forget that all older people have rights, this includes the right to input and make informed choices.
I feel like if I went into a interview as I am now I would get rejected because I have tattoos and crazy hair. I have been working in aged care now for 7 year all the resident I have looked after know me quite well and know what I am like but if I went into an interview with a resident I didn’t know they would read me like a book and not give a second look, that is what that generation is like. What about people from other countries and being discriminated on when going into an interview but then its lucky they are not making the decision.
Ben, I disagree, my Mum (now passed two months ago) one of her carers had crazy hair and tattoos and Mum loved her the best of all the carer’s there and Mum was the most conservative traditional older Greek lady. I dont think you need to worry about your appearance as long as you are a good caring empathetic carer that is all that counts
Sorry but I’m with Ben on this one. Whilst the residents most certainly should have as much choice as possible, in the way their care is delivered, Ben has made some very prudent points. I’ve worked in aged care for almost 11 years. Many of the residents refuse care from people from other cultures. Some even say I don’t want the “dark skinned” staff, or I don’t want that worker as they have tattoos. I’ve heard, and seen this first hand. This idea does certainly need some fine tuning, as sadly many potential staff will walk away from this kind of work, when things like this occur. One potential employee, was so intimidated, and so uncomfortable, she left the interview stating, she found it unacceptable, to be interviewed in this fashion, and politely stated, this position wasn’t for her. She expressed concern over her privacy and confidentiality, as residents would be privvy to her details and information during the interview. In theory yes its a lovely idea, but facilities may just discover, that it could be detrimental to the hiring system
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Yes! The Residents should have an opportunity to have a say. And that should include Management position interviews as well. Everything comes down from the top and I can say with first hand experience as the daughter of a loved one who resided at a Nursing Home, when the Manager is ‘ugly’ (per se), you could have the best staff in the world (if you’re lucky) and it still it isn’t a nice place to be.
Care should be taken though to ensure that “under par” care, management, services (which sadly is already too common anyway) is not blamed upon those Residents or that they are made to feel guilty, responsible for it or that they have to accept it.
I’m sorry, but I think this is a tokenistic response. Unless there is a resident who is used to interviewing and employing people there is no point.
At the point of offering a position to someone, it will be the person who has the skills according to the Management and HR staff.
I would rather see resident’s consulted at an earlier stage as to what they would prefer if the organisation was to employ another PCA (or other staff member).
In my experience, if a resident was part of the interviewing team, it would probably be the same resident who offered each time. It is the job of the professional team to know where there strengths and weaknesses are and employ accordingly bringing ideas from the Resident Committtee meeting with them to the interview.
Looking for an employee in your own house is very different to sitting on an interview panel for an employee for a small or large group of resident’s.
Of course they should. You pick your hairdresser, cleaner etc. They have every right to choose who will be looking after them