Contents
We live in an ageing population that has resulted in a growing need for skills enhancement in personal care workers (PCWs) – and those training requirements are ever more multifaceted. With additional factors to consider, such as dementia and obesity, personal care workers need to be resilient, adaptable and require a broad base of knowledge and skills to perform their roles well.
What are the key findings of care provision required for aged care?
A recently published FairWork Commission report details the complexity and levelof duties Personal Care Workers must now undertake in providing quality care for aged care consumers in residential andcommunity settings.
Tasks that need to be performed by personal care workers are both emotional and practical, such as but not limited to:
- providing personal care support, including assisting with hygiene, showering, and toileting,
- helping with household tasks,
- grocery shopping and meal preparation,
- supporting consumers to participate in social activities they enjoy,
- assisting consumers with medication,
- transporting, accompanying and supporting consumers with medical appointments, and
- working with medical professionals to ensure appropriate support.
Person centred care is a crucial approach focusing on the consumers likes and dislikes to ensure they are heard and respected.
In the FairWork Commission report extensive evidence was given by personal careworkers and details the specialised knowledge and skills that are required to care for consumers living with dementia and in the provision of palliative care.
An extract from the report summarises the more complex needs upon entering the aged care system observing that consumers in both residential facilities and community care were frailer, had more advanced disease, higher physical needs,reduced mobility including with higher levels of obesity, and show higherinstances of dementia, depression and behavioural issues when admitted intoresidential aged care facilities than in the past.
Stephen Voogt, a nurse practitioner (ref 259) stated:
“I have seen that in facilities dealing with residents is much more complex than it was a decade ago. Staff have to deal with all the diseases and geriatric syndromes - falls, incontinence, polypharmacy, dementia, depression to name a few. They are often very interconnected and not easy to unravel. Changing expectations of residents and their families has also magnified this.”
Report to The Full Bench: Increased acuity and more complex needs in residentialfacilities and community care
Kineo Courses is committed to improving the lives of people living in aged care
We know that the aged care sector is heavy on compliance training and staff require ongoing training to stay up-to-date on best practice. We aim to provide your learners with training that is current, engaging and won’t bore them out of their chairs.
We’re working with subject matter experts who are as passionate about providing as high a quality level of care to consumers as we are to providing high quality training.
In this blog we are focusing on the workplace training modules that address knowledge gaps personal care workers face to meet the aged care support needs of today's consumers. Subject matter expertise has been provided in these top 4 courses by Melissa Sinfield, who is passionate about learning and development and loves to bring aged care topics to life online. Melissa is a Registered Nurse and subject matter expert who is well placed to support the Kineo team with a PhD in aged care nursing, and with extensive aged care experience in education and quality management.
6 best practice aged care courses for Personal Care Workers
1. Aged Care Quality Standards for Personal Care Workers and Support Workers
The Aged Care Quality Standards (ACQS) were introduced in 2019 to improve the quality of life of the people receiving aged care. The Standards help consumers to understand what they can expect from aged care organisations and what they need to do to meet them. Everyone working in aged care has a role to play in providing consumer-centred care and meeting these Standards.
2. Falls Prevention in Home Care
Is useful as a standalone training, or paired with our existing aged care courses to provide a holistic approach to aged care.
Designed toprovide personal care workers and other support staff with an understanding of the serious repercussions of falls and how to prevent them in consumers receiving home care, as well as providing training on:
- what can happen if a client has a fall
- how to identify factors that can increase a client's risk of falling
- the importance of falls prevention strategies, and
- how to identify what can be done to reduce the client's falls risk.
3. Falls Prevention in Residential Aged Care
This course is especially useful for staff who interact directly with aged care consumers, the‘boots on the ground’ who spend their days providing personal care. These are the staff who can identify changes in the health or mobility of consumers receiving care and report it so that falls prevention strategies can be put in place.
4. Food Allergens in Aged Care
This new course addresses the food allergies and intolerances that affect approximately 1 in 5 Australians. Older people are at an increased risk of suffering from adverse or life-threatening effects from food allergies, as ageing immune systems, gastrointestinal changes, and cognitive decline make it more challenging to stay on top of safe food intake. It is crucial that aged care staff understand what a food allergy is, how to be safe with food, and the strategies for managing food allergies among consumers.
5. Understanding Dementia
In addition, the Understanding Dementia suite of workplace training courses, co-created with subject matter experts Frontline Care Solutions are highly appropriate for personal care workers. Courses in this series can be taken as standalone titles or as an entire suite:
Understanding Dementia - What is Dementia?
Understanding Dementia - Effective Communication
Understanding Dementia - Person Centred Care
Understanding Dementia - End Stage Dementia
Is an engaging course that provides practical guidance on brushing and flossing, mouth care and how to identify possible oral health problems. It also provides practical advice on diet and behaviour. This course has a dedicated topic for denture care, with a focus on full dentures, due to the number of older adults requiring them. This course has been developed with the University of South Australia.
All personal care worker courses features eLearning that contains:
- rich and engaging animations,
- Adaptics tailored training feature,
- realistic case studies and scenarios,
- activities that promote behavioural change, and
- assessments targeting specific learning outcomes.
Make a difference with Kineo Courses.
