Social care is a wonderful and rewarding area of employment to enter. There are many positive aspects of the role that can give you high job satisfaction. While at the same time, it can be hard to find another type of job that has so many constant challenges to overcome, on a practical and personal level. So in this article we’ll have a look at some of the characteristics needed to survive community care jobs, showing why they’re needed on a daily basis. If you seem to exhibit these characteristics, then a role in social care might be for you.
Empathy:
Being able to identify and relate to someone else’s position in social care is an absolute must. This does not mean that you have had to go through the same experience that they have gone through. Instead it is about finding similarities in your experiences, even if they’re small. This empathy can help understand problems faster. While also helping to overcome them.
Boundary setting:
Being empathetic also needs its boundaries, as much for your own good care, as for the good of the treatment being provided. Accepting what can be accomplished in a given timeframe is another important boundary to set. As this profession can often feel like the work never ends. Setting self expectations is a way in which you can make sure the care you deliver is of the highest quality. While still being efficient.
Active listening:
Active listening is essential to building up trust, which in turn is essential to deliver a good level of care, and comfort. Part of active listening means asking pertinent questions to patients which shows an acknowledgement of what they have been telling you. This might be information that makes a patient feel vulnerable, scared, embarrassed, etc. Thus you can see how empathy is also an important part of this process.
Social Perceptiveness:
Alongside active listening, in social care you must also be able to pick up off body language, social cues, implications, etc. Not all clients are going to state their needs crystal clear for you to react to. Instead, you must, while actively listening, look out for these non communicative indicators, and engage the client about these when necessary/appropriate.
Organisation skills:
On a more practical level, organisation is key to not getting swamped down in caseloads within social care. Having a clear system from the word go will make life a lot easier for you. In turn, this means that the level of care you can provide is of a higher quality, as there is a clear personal structure for yourself to rely on.