Work experience: What I did

This is the first of two posts. This one explains what I did for my four days, and the next one will talk about what I learned.

I spent a week at the Argyles Bupa care home as a work experience student. I found that all of the staff were lovely and friendly and it had a really welcoming atmosphere. My week did not go as planned. The first mistake I made was the week I chose – I ended up choosing a week with a bank holiday, so I only came in on Tuesday.

Tuesday was great except the lady I was supposed to be shadowing had been called out to deal with an emergency, so I shadowed James, normally a junior care assistant, but who was activities manager for the day. We spent the morning doing room visits, which were interesting, and the afternoon in training (I’m trained to push a wheel chair!). I also watched a film on the mental capacity act, and learned a bit about what carers were allowed to say when talking to the residents.

On Wednesday Rosemary was in a meeting for the morning, so I followed James again, only this time I followed him in his capacity as a junior care assistant. He was on house keeping, so this entailed helping him tidy and hoover the rooms, empty bins, and make sure that the rooms were habitable. Afterwards I helped another junior care assistant called Michael deliver teas and coffees to all of the residents. I thought it was interesting to find out that some of them receive a powder in their cups called “thickener” which did exactly what it said on the tin. Making the drinks more viscous meant that the residents were less likely to spill them, and could still enjoy a nice cup of tea. The afternoon was spent with Rosemary, Pam and Brian who were doing a sing-along in the main lounge. This was great fun for everyone involved.

Thursday was a special day, because Rosemary had organised a day trip out to Weston Super-Mare, by the seaside. I was pushing an elderly gent called Burt, who was still mobile but had recently had a problem with his leg, and had been advised to take a wheelchair for the day.

Friday was my last day, and I was sorry to see them go. I had been cleared to work with a nurse on Friday, but that nurse was called out so I spent the day with the residents on room visits, and helping in the “Gentlemen’s club”, which was where the home served fish and chips with alcohol of choice for all the gents who wanted to participate. I really enjoyed my time there, and I’m planning to go back – they even offered me a part time job!