Becoming a hospital HCA

[Fullofpudding]

I’m becoming a hospital HCA which is a complete career change. Although I’ve read up about the role I’m interested to hear what fellow HCAs do on a day to day basis. The interview was so short that I really didn’t get to ask much! Thanks.

Congratulations.

Can you give an idea of the department you will be working in because ward work differs from clinic work.
We need this information to answer your questions.

its going to be on ward that specialises in endocrine/adult diabetes as far as I know.

So you are going to be busy!
you are the eyes and ears of the qualified nurses, they will trust and rely on you to advocate for patients in your care.

Tasks from feeding those who are unable to feed themselves, washing and toileting patients.
Giving out meals, monitoring and documenting fluid and dietary intake.
Mouth care, catheter care, possibly some wound care after training.. diabetic ulcers will feature in this patient population.

A kind word, chat and compassionate care are essential.

Will you do internal rotation?

Honestly I have no idea. I literally had the interview in March and not heard too much more about it apart from picking up my uniform and being told I’m not to wear nail varnish. I start next week 😬

Hospital Matron here…

Expect lots of routine tasks, bed making, cleaning, serving meals, filling in charts,feeding patients, helping with washes, toileting patients, lots of accidents and bodily fluids.

Conversely be prepared for no 2 days being the same as no 2 patients are the same, there’ll be the unexpected incidents, patients collapsing, getting abuse one minute and thanks the next.

You’re in a position of absolute trust, helping people at the most vulnerable times of their life in sometimes distressing and embarrassing situations and the way you react to people will be remembered by them for years.

Treat all your patients with dignity and respect and remember that kindness and a smile cost nothing and mean everything.

I occasionally hear HCA colleagues describe themselves as ‘only an HCA’ and I assure you that as far as patients are concerned you are invaluable. You will spend lots of time talking to your patients as a PP has said you are the nurses eyes and ears.

It’s a hard job, with long hours but is extremely rewarding. There are opportunities for progression into Nurse associate roles and beyond.
I wish you every success in your career change.

I'm a HCA, it's a super busy job. Washing changing and assisting to the toilet, bed changes, monitoring observations, assisting with feeds, filling in paperwork, assisting nurse/Dr taking bloods or putting in cannula's, we do tea rounds, help with menus, dishing out food, . We chat to the patients and relatives, assisting the patients with the porters to take for xray, mri scans etc. Not so nice side is doing cpr on a cardic arrest or last officers on a deceased patient.
It can however be super rewarding. No 2 days are ever the same but I like the big variety the shift can bring. It's very physical, you'll need very comfy shoes I can do over 18, 000 steps on a average day.
We are the eyes and ears of the ward, we seem to see and know more of what's going on than nursing staff as we have more interaction really. I've laughed and cried on the same shift before now!

My mum is seriously ill in hospital at the moment and the HCA is amazing. She’s comes round to check her sats, blood pressure etc. adjustments pillows so she is comfy. Wets her tongue as she cannot drink. She put a fan on for her today as she felt a bit warm.

always tells her what she’s doing first.

Hi, congratulations!
I’m a HCA on a surgical ward and I absolutely love it. it can be very stressful and the hours are long but it is so, so rewarding.

there are certain things you do every shift and a certain amount of times a day such as the roundings (essentially a check list to make sure patients are ok/have what they need), fluid charts, turning patients to prevent pressure sores, giving out meals, emptying catheter bags, toileting, answering call bells. We also do the observations on our ward but I know some HCAs don’t do that. We also remove catheters, do blood glucose monitoring and basic dressings.

Then there’s all the other things such as comforting people who are scared or upset that they are in hospital, dealing with aggressive patients (luckily not too many of them), dealing with very confused patients, feeding people who are unable to feed themselves and honestly a lot more. Like I said I work on a surgical ward but we take a lot of medical patients as-well so maybe the ward you’re on will be very different.

One of The things I like most about the job is how many different people with different circumstances you deal with. I have seen so much in this job nothing shocks me anymore!
like others have said, you're the eyes and ears of the nurses so always make sure you know your patients and their needs well and escalate to your nurse when you notice any changes.

I never thought I would be doing a job like this but I love it and am hoping to progress to be a nurse.
good luck!

sorry about your mum @whatohwhattodo

This is another big thing as well, communicating with patients and telling them what you are doing and how much longer you’ll be. Even if the patient is unconscious I will still talk to them and tell them what I’m doing. I hate to see HCA or nurses not doing this.

As an ex care assistant, ex-nurse, and now carer for my family members, you are vital. Patients will tell you things they didn't even think to tell the nurse as you help them with their daily needs. You will be the one that notices that Mabel is less energetic than normal, is finding things more difficult than yesterday, is less chatty - those signs come far before her physical observations will change. You will know that Gary likes to have his wash after breakfast, but that Terry doesn't feel ready for breakfast until he's had a wash.

As a carer: Please know that if a parent needs to stay on your ward, they really will need to. One of my daughters is 18, and needed to stay in hospital last week. She has SEN, but doesn't have an obvious learning disability. I spent one night awake in a chair, 4 nights sleeping on a floor, and one night in a broken reclining chair that I propped up with a hard plastic chair. I managed to get a single pillow and a blanket on night 2. No parent willingly sleeps on a hospital floor if they could go home to a comfortable bed.

You are the person that will make relatives feel that their loved one is safe. Nurses take on such an overarching role now that the care assistants are the ones who are really getting to know their patients.

If you do night shifts, please help to promote a culture of respect for sleep. Sleep is vital to patient recovery. Having staff talk at full volume at night is awful. Especially when it is non-clinical talk about staff politics, or their upcoming holiday.

Lastly, I know that visibility is important for safety, but there are ways of being able to see your patients without needing the curtains completely open all day or night long. DD2 didn't sleep for the first 2 nights because they insisted on keeping the curtains completely open. She didn't feel safe at all.

Develop a strong stomach and a poker face would be my advice. Once you’ve mastered these, it’s very rewarding work, congratulations on your new job 😊