If you have been looking for a job, full time or part time to raise income for your family or build a career around your children, there is room for you in health and social care, the job loss within this sector is very low.
What exactly do I need to do?
The starting point is you need to discover your interest and be willing to develop yourself. There are many aspects within the health and social care sector therefore you will need to decide what client group you would prefer to work with - children, young adults, elderly, individuals with disabilities (physical, cognitive and learning disabilities), specialized care ( stroke, mental disorders, dementia etc)
You will also need to decide the kind of environment - hospitals, care homes, individual homes or education and training.
Here is a breakdown of courses that you can do to move to the next level.
NVQ Health and Social Care Level 1- This is usually a two weeks training that introduces you to the principles of Health and Social Care. You do not need to be in employment to do this training as it is meant to give you a fundamental understanding of the role of a care worker or support worker. This is the first building block if you are new to Health and Social Care. This course comprises of a one week workshop experience and the second week is a practical experience within a health and social care environment. Afterwards you receive a certificate of attendance. Some of the topics usually covered are:
- Basic nursing procedures
- Communication
- Health and Safety at Work
- Moving and handling procedures
- Incontinence care
- First Aid
- Infection Control
- Basic food hygiene
- Safeguarding and protecting individuals
- Confidentiality
- Report writing
NVQ Level 2 - This is the ideal level for you if you are working in Health and Social Care, providing support to professionals, carrying out clinical care, health or personal care to individuals in a hospital or community- based health care setting. It really doesn't matter if you are new to the job you can enroll on this course. These days if you have been working without an NVQ or other qualification you will be advised by your employer to consider enrolling on NVQ 2 as you may not be allowed to keep your job from the year 2010. Many other employers would only offer jobs to care workers with a minimum of NVQ 2.
This course comprises of 4 mandatory units and 2 optional units based on a skill scan. The mandatory units are:
HSC21- Communication and record keeping
HSC22- Health and Safety at Work
HSC23 - Develop your practice
You will be allowed to choose your 2 optional units from a list based on your skills and job role. This is a very interesting course and you will find it easy if you have been working according to your organizational policies and procedures. Having NVQ 2 Adults would qualify you to work with all groups of adults although you may need to attend trainings in specialized areas coupled with your existing experience, for example if you currently work with the elderly and wish to work with individuals with learning disability, your NVQ 2 adults is relevant except that you will need some additional training which are short courses.
Pay rates for this level range from £6.50 - £10 depending on the employer
NVQ Level 3- At Level 3, the Health and Social Care NVQ has two pathways: "Adults" and "Children and Young People". This qualification is designed for workers delivering care and support often without direct supervision or probably working on their own in an individual's own home.
If you are undertaking some supervisory or developmental responsibilities for other care workers or you are involved in other specialist tasks with some degree of responsibility or independence e.g. administration of medicines, NVQ 3 in health and social care is relevant to you.
Common job roles that would qualify you to do the NVQ 3 are senior care workers, team leaders, domiciliary care workers, home care organizers and community support workers.
You will be required to complete 4 mandatory units and 4 optional units based on a skills scan. The mandatory units are:
HSC31 - Promoting Communication
HSC32 - Promoting Health and Safety
HSC33 - Reflect on and develop your Practice
HSC34/ HSC35 - Protecting children (HSC34) or Adults (HSC35)
You will be allowed to choose your 4 optional units from a list based on your skills and job role. This is also a very interesting course and you will find it easy if you have been practicing within health and social care.
Health insurance is designed to pay for a patient's health care bill whether in full or partially. There are many different types of plans which may include group and individual, workers compensation or government plans which include Medicaid and Medicare. The purpose is to help individuals cover their costs which could include visits to the doctor, hospital stays and surgery, home care or other necessary treatments or services.
Most coverage can be made available for individuals or groups. A Government health insurance plan is designed for people who meet certain requirements. Normal health plans can be classified as either managed care or plans that are fee-for-service. The managed care program normally will limit the patient to professionals that are listed by the insurance company who handles it.
A group policy is usually offered to employees or other groups, sometimes it will be paid for by the employer entirely or partially. Individual plans, as the name suggests is sold directly to an individual who will pay the full amount of the premium and is bought from health insurance companies.
There are also supplemental coverage plans which will cover certain expenses that normal individual health insurance does not cover, for example something such as having cancer treatments. Just as in any other industry that is competitive, insurance rates and prices can vary quite widely from different companies. Therefore it is important to compare rates and different types of policies that are offered.
You may also want to look into getting a good dental plan. It basically works the same way as any other type of medical coverage, for example you would pay a regular monthly premium to get coverage and this will cover most procedures that are general dentistry needs. However, dental coverage will not include anything that might be considered as a cosmetic procedure, which might include getting porcelain veneers or dental implants, as these are considered elective procedures.
There are also dental plans that are not considered as insurance. These are simply programs that allow for discounts by participating dentists for normal types of procedures such as a tooth extraction. There are monthly fees involved which are very reasonable to retain membership in one of these programs. Depending on the plan and the dentist involved, you can get discounts on examinations, cleanings, fillings, root canals and dentures. The consumer can save as much as 60% but again it depends on which type of plan you are enrolling in.
