Senior Healthcare Assistant Review

Caring for patients that are ranging from being acutely unwell to nearing end of life. Providing them with personal care, including washing and dressing patients. Monitoring and observing their condition, this including completing vital signs observations, blood sugar monitoring, catheter drainage (hourly). Documenting and escalating concerns to the relevant people and maintaining any concerns are shared to the team working.

During my apprenticeship I learnt venepuncture, enabling urgent bloods required for patients to be taken, breakaway training for patients that became aggressive or aggravated. I learnt many breathing techniques, including using nebulisers and repositioning of patients. Learnt to catheterise female patients, if they were in urinary retention.

I loved my apprenticeship. I have now transitioned my training to the Nursing Associate programme, without the healthcare assistant apprenticeship I wouldn't have been able to be so experienced for my qualification now, or able too transfer my skills and increase the broadness of the skills. I would not have liked to have learnt to do my nursing training any other way.

Very organised. There was weekly training sessions, and then each week the practise educator would visit in the clinical placement, providing further training on the wards, assessing skills and assisting with coursework and workbooks that were required to be completed alongside working full time. They were very supportive and welcoming.

I felt well supported by my employer. my ward were extremely supportive of my learning enabling me to try out new clinical skills. I was offered a full time job on the ward I was working on after my apprenticeship finished, this provided me with stable income and good working hours.

We have weekly workbooks and essays to complete. This was supported by weekly training and teaching sessions relevant to the workbook for that week. We would be able to email the assessors if we had any concerns or would like our work to be read and checked prior to the submission date.

If I had not undertaken this apprenticeship, I feel I would have lacked a lot of basic knowledge which is often what I rely on to assist with my day to day work now even at a higher degree apprenticeship. I feel more confident and the care I provide is to a high quality.

Many meetings and additional training sessions to go to. The ward had many social events, including team bonding and evenings out, which enabled you to know your work colleagues more than just working with them on a shift. This actually assisted and worked better when the team needed to rely on each other.

Yes

Good salary, friendly staff, support from many colleagues and your training providers. Good work ethic and environement, you never feel as if asking a question is going to be too much or to come across "silly". Great working hours and there is so many opportunities to improve and develop your personal development.

Be yourself, be honest when in the interview. The core values at the trust are set out to employ people who are reliable, honest, caring. Be professional as this job requires a high standard of professionalism. You need to love caring and supporting people, especially at their time of need.