Changing Lives: Aged Care and Disability Support Professionals

Healthcare professionals change people’s lives for the better. Whether they work in aged care, disability support, or one of countless other healthcare fields, these heroes assist those who need it the most. Healthcare professionals brighten lives, brighten futures, and brighten their own souls, all while setting a shining example for others in their community to do the same.

You too can make a difference and better the lives of those around you by becoming an aged care or a disability support worker. It doesn’t need to be a career change; if someone in your life is in need of extra help or support then you can step in to provide them the care they need on your own time.

By taking a simple aged care or disability support course and earning a qualification, you can easily enrich someone’s life and make their world a little bit brighter.

The Demand for Care and Support

The healthcare industry is always in need of new staff, especially carers and support professionals. According to the World Health Organisation, by 2025 there will be a shortage of approximately 10 million healthcare workers. Not all these roles will be a carer, but many will be. Here are three reasons why Australia’s healthcare industry needs more care and support workers:

Ageing population

Australia’s population, along with many other countries’, is ageing. This means that fewer people are having children, raising the median age of Australian citizens every year. The Australian government predicts there will be approximately 179,000 new jobs opening in the country’s aged care industry over the next five years.

With the rising cost of living in Australia, this trend is not likely to change. An ageing population means fewer younger people to look after them, which in turn means more of Australia’s seniors will have to rely on friends, family members, and loved ones to take care of them.

Promotions to new roles

Another cause of the increased demand for healthcare professionals in Australia is that many of its existing workers are moving onwards and upwards into roles with more responsibilities such as doctors or nurses. However, in doing so are leaving an empty space behind them in need of filling.

Taking a promotion is almost always good for the person in question, and that’s no different in the healthcare industry. However, people who leave their roles as carers or support professionals don’t just leave their jobs behind, they also leave their patients. Newcomers to healthcare may find their passion in the industry and move up as well in due time. In the meantime however, there are plenty of roles available for someone looking to get their foot in the door.

Challenging work

The hard truth of working in healthcare is that the work is difficult, mentally and emotionally. Healthcare professionals constantly deal with people who are in pain, who have unique and trying needs, or who are dying. It’s a lot for an ordinary person to bear, but not all healthcare professionals are ordinary people. The work can be difficult, challenging, and even confronting, but for the right person with their heart in the right place, it’s the most rewarding career they could ever dream of.

Care and Support

When many people hear the words “care and support” in relation to the healthcare industry they immediately think of nursing. Providing care or support can be somewhat similar to nursing, but becoming a nurse requires qualifications which take a lot more time and money to earn. Nurses also deal with much more serious and intense medical situations, whereas care and support are much simpler.

Anyone can become a care or support professional in Australia after taking a simple, three week training course. There are no academic or professional requirements needed to enrol, and there are many different healthcare roles such a course can lead to.

Aged care and disability roles are just two of the specialties one can find themselves in. They share similar study streams, both tackling the topics of basic health knowledge, medication administration, providing support for loss and grief, and reporting abuse. However, there are a few differences.

Aged Care

Aged care is all about providing support services to our county’s ageing population. More than one million Australians received some form of aged care in 2020, mostly delivered in their homes, and this growth is projected to continue rising to at least 25% of all Australians in 2050. Those with an ageing support qualification are currently eligible for the following job roles, among many others:

• Nursing assistants
• Personal carer
• Support Worker

Disability Support

Disability professionals provide individualised support to those with unique needs. Much of this is done through the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme), the arm of the Australian government which provides financial assistance and supports to people living with disabilities. Supports can include therapy and counselling, in-home care, and community support programs, which are all tailored to help those living with disability meet their personal goals. Disability support professionals include the following occupations among others:

• Personal carer
• Respite care worker
• Disability services worker
• Home help worker

It’s All About Empathy

As you can tell, there’s a lot of overlap between aged care and disability support in Australia. They’re both full of entry level friendly roles to the healthcare industry, and both qualifications share the following disciplines:

• Providing individualised support
• Recognising a healthy body
• Infection control
• Administering medication to patients
• Reporting abuse
• Providing support to those experiencing grief or loss.

Ultimately, what both these professions have in common is that they are about empathy. Both aged care and disability support professionals specialise in caring for people who need it the most.

If you’d like to make a positive difference to the life of someone in need you can get started today. Skill’s Training College provides courses in both Aged Care and Disability support for anyone who has someone they’d like to care for, or who is looking for a simple first step into Australia’s healthcare industry.