Only go into care work if it's want you to do it, for no other reason at all. Refusing unpleasant shifts or if it clashes with some fun is not the way to approach care work, especially with learning disabilities or mental health. The patients you work with will not grasp the fact that you are doing it because the training is easy, the pays alright and it suits. They may well think it something they have done as to why you don't come back. It can have consequences.
Having been in this line of work for over 5 years as a relief support worker for Mencap : it is work that I feel is worthwhile, rewarding and a job I like.
The guys I support seem genuinely pleased to see me when there is work for me and we have a lot of good times.
Relief support work may not be everyones idea of a career but it fills a much needed lack of realy permanent support, benifits those needing support, is available to those in need of work and demands no dificult to aquire skills
The shifts I turn down tend to be overnighters as I have many commitments - mainly with charity work and especially my church and weekends when I have comitted to a Bushy do before the work was offered.
The only ones to suffer if I refuse to do a particular shift are other support staff who have to cover that shift
Sometimes I get no work for months on end, then things go crazy as a "permanent" support worker leaves for better paying work. It is the permanent staff who leave that can cause upsets ...they understand that relief staff apear and then disapear, only to reapear again! With a staff of about a dozen the only staff that seem to form particularly strong bonds with individuals are the Key workers, though all the residents of the houses I have done relief work have reasonably strong bonds with all their support staff.
Any period of time spent with those using support workers is an education for a worker and in my mind it would be better for someone needing support to have continuity of support BUT relief workers play an important role in that the "permanent" staff tend not to be all that permant.
In the time I have done relief work somewhere about 10 permanent staff have come and permanently gone!
Relief work may not be the ideal career for everyone and even if you only do it until you find a job more suited to your life plan it is an education for you, benifits those needing support, can bring you in a small income (the pay is not brilliant!), looks good on a CV - and may lead to a new and rewarding career after all!
Refusing the oportunity to do support work because you think that it may not be for you in the long term and that those you support MIGHT not understand that support work is a job and that people move on denies you an education in reality and an oportunity to experience the rewards that being a support worker can bring as well as actually improving the lot of the user of support and easing some of the burden of the permanent staff who often work outrageous hours over their contract just to ensure their charges have a good level of support! Not having enough workers in the sector can have severe concequences for those needing support!
If you want worthwhile work - try an area in the job market that is screaming out for workers...the support/care sector!
