Real Life Carers and the Care Certificate – Part 1

Posted 4 years ago

iHasco have created a complete eLearning package to cover the “theory” for those who are working towards their care certificate, with 15 separate concise and engaging courses. We are genuinely excited to be able to provide the opportunity, for anyone starting out in the care sector, to learn about the 15 standards of care, that are so vital for working within the industry and providing quality care. Not only that, it provides a great refresher for those more experienced workers too.

To celebrate the launch of iHasco being able to offer the complete online package we wanted to have a chat with some real life carers and find out about their experiences within the sector. We also gave them full access to our care certificate training courses to see what they thought of them!

First we spoke to Becca, a carer from Surrey, in the first blog of this two-part series.

Image of Becca sat at a computer completing iHasco's online care certificate training

How did you get into the care industry?

After college I knew I wanted to be a nurse, however I had no experience in personal care so applied for care assistant jobs around my local area as a stepping stone. Right now I’m studying Adult Nursing at Nottingham University to become a nurse, but I still work at the care home local to my home during holiday periods.

What is your favourite part about working as a carer?

Building relationships with my residents and seeing how small gestures can really impact their day is by far the most rewarding part about my job. Over time you can become really close with some residents and learn so much about their lives, it’s so interesting!

What is the most challenging aspect of your role?

The most challenging part about my role is probably caring for people in the end of life stage, especially for those in which you have built up a relationship over time and then supporting their families when they come to visit. It can be a really tough environment to work in at times and sometimes you can leave feeling rather numb.

How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected your role?

Residents and staff both catching the virus has put a strain on the care home and staff. It’s also meant that more agency staff are being used who don’t know the care home very well and more responsibility is often divided up between fewer staff. Initially there was a real lack of PPE in my care home, it was quite shocking actually and we’re still without gowns although things have slowly improved.

Have you already completed the Care Certificate?

I completed the first 7 chapters of the Care Certificate and I then enrolled on an access to nursing course in college which was CQC approved and resulted in me being qualified.

I remember the Care Certificate being so time consuming and not manageable, the booklet you had to carry around was so big and bulky.

Have you had any previous experience with eLearning for your role in care?

Yes when I initially started at the care home and then yearly refresher courses. Our eLearning at the care home is of a high standard and is bespoked to our own care home, it’s made in house by the company.

What impressed you most about our online Care Certificate courses?

As I said above, the quality of eLearning which I’m used to is very good so I was very surprised when I took the iHasco online Care Certificate courses and found them to actually be better. They were so easy to navigate and the animations and real-life footage made them engaging. I also found the extra resources and worksheets so handy! These made it really easy to take notes as I went along and process the key information. I’d recommend this package of eLearning courses to anyone working in the care sector, even those who have years of experience!

You can read part 2 of our real life carers blog series here.

Interested in online training with iHasco?

iHasco are offering a cost effective package for those requiring the 15 Care Certificate courses, providing access to these courses for as little as £2 per course, per person. iHasco are a Skills for Care Endorsed Learning and Development Provider, so users can have confidence in the content and quality of these courses. The 15 courses can be completed online, in under 8 hours, but at the learners own pace and convenience. You can read more about the care certificate here.

Request a free trial or call a member of our friendly team to discuss how eLearning can help your organisation.