"You become a bit of everything as a direct care worker in the community,” says Uniting AgeWell Support Worker Denise Joss. “You do personal care, a bit of cleaning, provide social interaction, take clients to the doctor or to the shops, go for walks…”
Having worked with clients in the Hobart-area on home care packages through Uniting AgeWell for the past 16 years, Denise relishes the fact that no two days are ever the same.
She’s worked at an AgeWell centre, as a client advisor and in her current role as a support worker and is still as passionate about her job as when she first completed her Cert 4 in Aged Care and joined the industry.
Dementia care fascinates her, and Denise has enjoyed the raft of courses she’s completed through Uniting AgeWell: training in dementia, First Aid in Mental Health, a Cert 4 in Leisure and Lifestyle – even learning how to drive a community bus to take clients on excursions.
“Uniting AgeWell is a pretty good place to work, they respect me and train me up to be all that I can,” Denise says.
And after years of working in retail, both in Tasmania and in Perth, she’s proud to be employed in the aged care sector. “Older people have a lot to offer, they have huge wisdom. I learn so much from them, far more than I ever did at school,” Denise says.
However she’s quick to admit that aged care is not for everyone. “If you’re not kind and don’t have empathy, then really don’t bother… you need to have a big heart to work in this role. Oh, and common sense. Lots of it!”
The mother-of-two adult children also volunteers with the ambulance service.
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