Elderly care assistants

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Resident of a nursing home in Munich-Laim (1990)

Elderly care assistant is a training occupation that is becoming increasingly important due to demographic developments . Elderly care assistants support geriatric nurses and nurses in the care and support of the elderly.

Field of activity

Retirement home 2005

Elderly care assistants work as employees in inpatient facilities (e.g. retirement and nursing home , hospital ), dementia community , in semi-inpatient facilities (e.g. day care) or outpatient services (e.g. social station, outpatient care services). Employers are u. a. Awo , Caritas , German Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband , German Red Cross , Diakonie , municipal and private organizations. In some cases, these also offer the corresponding school education .

tasks

Elderly care assistants support old people with personal hygiene (washing, showering, using the toilet), with nutrition (preparing and taking in food), with mobility (dressing and undressing, getting up and going to bed, changing beds), with housekeeping and accompanying them on walks , Shopping or visiting the doctor. They offer talks, encourage participation in cultural events and help organize the day. The help is designed in such a way that, despite age-related restrictions, self-determination and independence are maintained as far as possible. In addition to a good physical constitution, they need empathy, patience and a sense of responsibility for their work. The tasks also include assessing a wound, providing first aid and communicating information to the specialist in the event of peculiarities or abnormalities.

Career prospects

As in general in the care professions, the job prospects are above average: According to job information from the Federal Employment Agency, there are 0.2 to 0.4 applicants per advertised position, depending on the federal state (as of 2017).

education

In Germany, training is regulated by state law. There are legal regulations for the federal states of Baden-Württemberg , Bavaria , Brandenburg , Bremen , Hamburg , Hesse , Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , North Rhine-Westphalia , Rhineland-Palatinate , Saarland , Saxony-Anhalt , Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia (as of October 2019). The state authorities enacted in accordance with federal law are responsible.

The training takes place in vocational schools and takes one to two years full -time and between two and three years part-time . The admission requirements are also different in the different federal states, the secondary school leaving certificate is more often mentioned as a requirement. The training concludes with a state final examination. An information portal of the Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth maintains a list of geriatric nursing schools with a search function for locations.

The training is divided into a practical and a theoretical part. In internships, experience is gained in typical work methods and processes in geriatric care facilities. The theoretical content includes physical, psychological and social changes in old age, age-related and age-typical diseases, methods of care and support for elderly people, and the planning and documentation of care processes. The specifics of support for people with dementia or a disability and the care situation for seriously ill and dying people are also taken into account. Another area is the differences between inpatient and outpatient care as well as information on providers, services and institutions of geriatric care assistance. In addition, some general subjects such as German, economics and social studies are taught.

Financing during the training period is regulated differently. Partly a training allowance is paid, partly course fees have to be paid, which in turn can be covered by education vouchers from the Employment Agency. It is also possible to apply for BAföG to cover the cost of living .

Some training centers in Germany offer special training opportunities for non-native speakers. At the same time as training to become a geriatric care assistant, language skills are taught and citizenship classes are taught to prepare for the naturalization test.

The profession of geriatric nurse can also be chosen as retraining . The Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth emphasizes the suitability as a new beginning in the middle phase of life, for example in the case of existing unemployment or after the family phase. For personal suitability, it is important to enjoy being with older people and not be afraid of practical work that is close to the body. The ability to act independently and to work in a team is also mentioned as a further characteristic of professional aptitude. If the requirements for funding are met, the retraining can be financially supported by education vouchers from the employment agencies.

In the training structures in Austria and Switzerland , the job description does not differ from that of geriatric nurses.

Continuing education and training

Training courses are z. B. possible in medical treatment care or in special care methods for old and demented people such as validation (care) . Further training to become a home and family carer or geriatric carer leads to higher professional qualifications .

See also

literature

  • Bernd Hein: Learning cards for geriatric nursing assistance Nursing assistance: for exam preparation . Urban & Fischer / Elsevier, Munich, 2010. ISBN 978-3-4372-8680 3
  • Thomas Klie, Virginia Guerra: Synopsis of service, assistance and face-to-face professions in education, care and support , Freiburg, 2006. Editor Robert Bosch Stiftung , Stuttgart (also online)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Careers information for geriatric care assistants at the Federal Employment Agency . Retrieved November 22, 2017
  2. ^ Geriatric care assistant: tasks and activities. Called . Retrieved November 23, 2017
  3. ↑ Opportunities on the job market. Called . Retrieved November 22, 2017
  4. ↑ Link list to the legal regulations for training of the Federal Employment Agency. Retrieved October 8, 2019
  5. ↑ List of responsibilities at the Federal Ministry for Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth . Retrieved November 22, 2017
  6. ↑ Country- specific admission requirements . Retrieved November 22, 2017
  7. ↑ Elderly care schools at the Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth. Retrieved November 23, 2017
  8. ↑ Elderly care training AWO Essen ( Memento of the original from November 19, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved November 23, 2017 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.awo-essen.de
  9. ↑ GHSE vocational school for geriatric care help . Retrieved November 23, 2017
  10. ^ Mettnau Vocational School . Retrieved October 9, 2019
  11. ^ Institute for Social Professions Stuttgart , accessed on October 9, 2019
  12. ↑ A geriatric care training can also take place as part of professional training (so-called retraining) . Federal Ministry of Family Affairs. Retrieved November 23, 2017
  13. ↑ A career in geriatric care assistant. Retrieved November 22, 2017
  14. ^ Home and family carers at the Federal Employment Agency . Retrieved November 22, 2017