Tracey Norman is a Senior Social Care-Worker in one of our housing services. She’s written a description of a typical shift to help prospective Social-care Workers understand what the role entails. Tracey’s also explained what she gets out of working for Together.
If you’re interested in applying for a role, read the 
Social-care Worker Job Description/Person Specification and Senior Social-care Worker Job Description/Person Specification, then check out our current jobs in mental health.
Tuesday
2.30pm Arrive for work for a sleep-in shift. Feeling quite relaxed, because I had a day off yesterday. Sit in main lounge for a coffee and a chat with residents, Jim, Ian and other staff on duty. All seems well.
Move up to the office for the daily handover of information and list of tasks to do. After the handover, do the daily money handover with a colleague.
4.30pm Go down to the main lounge to speak with the resident who is on cooking duty. He tells me he is cooking chilli con carne and doesn’t need any support to do it. He has already started to prepare the meal, so I leave him to it.
Talk to Steven* whose keyworker I am. We both support the same football team so we moan and groan for a while about the latest result.”
5pm Talk to Steven* whose keyworker I am. We both support the same football team so we moan and groan for a while about the latest result. Then he comes to the office to put his next GP appointments into his personal profile, and I enter them in the project diary.
6pm After dinner it’s time for people to take their medication. And, as we have a new Relief Worker who is still receiving her induction, I supervise her while she administers the medication and fills in the relevant forms.
7pm It’s time for the residents’ meeting. These take place on Tuesday nights. Cooking duties and daily tasks are decided, and any other information that people need to be aware of or want to talk about is discussed. On Wednesday afternoons staff meetings are held. Most of the staff team is on shift that day and it’s always good to catch up on everyone’s news and discuss issues to do with supporting our residents.
After the meeting, talk through the induction pack with the new Relief Worker and while she carries on reading through it, I check the emails and look on the Internet for industrial washing machines! Our washing machine is on its way out.
9pm already! Phone my family to make sure they are all alright and say goodnight to them.
9.15pm Medication time again. That done, I re-label some medication boxes. Then there’s just the ‘handover sheet’ to get ready for tomorrow. Last of all, check everything is OK downstairs and turn in for the night. It’s an early start tomorrow – have to be back on shift at 7.30am.
It’s been a good shift: others may be busier, some not so busy. I could spend a shift going out on activities with residents or supporting them to do some shopping. No two shifts are the same, but there’s always something interesting going on.”
The benefits of working for Together
I have been working for Together for five years now. I enjoy my job and find it rewarding. It’s not all fun and laughter, but it gives me a good feeling when someone remains well and happy and achieves something that they have always wanted to do.
Working for Together has given me the experience I need to continue climbing the career ladder. I started as a Social-care Worker in November 1997.
Together offers good training so when a Senior Social-care Worker’s position became vacant three years later, I felt I had the experience and training needed to do a good job. I had a successful interview and was promoted.
Then in March 2003 I was asked to ‘act up’ as Deputy Manager of the service, and again I felt I had had adequate training to do a good job. So that’s where I am now, busy gaining experience at a managerial level.
* Names have been changed.
