How to Become Qualified for the Top Home Health Aide Jobs in SC
Written by:
Jeffrey Grossman
Published:
March 8, 2021
Are you looking for a fulfilling career that involves helping others?Have you thought about home health aide jobs?
Do you know about home health care jobs in Charleston, SC?The caregiving industry is growing and in need of more caregivers. More than ever, aging adults want to grow old in their homes and communities instead of nursing homes. To keep up with this trend, home care agencies are readily hiring passionate caregivers.Do you have a caring heart and want to help others in need?In this article, we’ll be giving you inside information about caregiver training requirements and telling you where you can find the best caretaker training courses.If you’re interested in caregiving and wondering, “What does it take to be a caregiver?” keep reading.
What is a Caregiver?
A caregiver is an individual who assists elderly adults with their daily life tasks. Often, a caregiver works for a home care agency that hires caregivers out to aging adults in need.A caregiver’s main priority is following the client’s care plan to ensure the best care possible. A good caregiver will have qualities like:
Compassion towards the elderly
Patience in tough situations
Creativity on the job
The aid that caregivers provide to clients often includes:
Bathing and personal hygiene
Dressing and grooming
Housework and laundry
Transportation and errands
Caregiving isn’t always an easy job, but it can be very rewarding. Many adult seniors are looking for in-home help so they keep their lifestyle, and you might be the answer they’re looking for.
How do You Become a Caregiver?
Becoming a caregiver isn’t difficult, but some training is necessary. There are also a few different ways that someone can enter into a caregiving career.Historically, becoming a certified nursing assistant (CNA) is the route most people took to a caregiving career. They’d take CNA courses, receive the certification, and then apply to caregiving jobs.However, there’s technically no need for any special certifications to be a caregiver. Top-level in-home care agencies realize that in-house training is more valuable than certifications. This allows anyone, regardless of prior experience, to receive proper caregiver training and start a caregiver career.Let’s talk about each of these routes and why you might want to consider the second route before spending time and money on certifications.
CNA Certification in SC
Just because you don’t need certifications to be a caregiver doesn’t mean they don’t have value.By taking CNA courses, you’ll gain first-hand knowledge and experience in the medical world. CNA courses will also provide you with hands-on training in many procedures that you’ll regularly perform as a caregiver.
Where Can I Get CNA Training?
CNA training in South Carolina is available all over the state. When signing up for certified assistant nursing programs in SC, it’s essential to make sure you’re joining a class that’s approved in South Carolina. Otherwise, your certification won’t be official and you can’t apply for CNA-specific jobs.
What Do I Need to Know About CNA Courses?
Once you’ve signed up for a South Carolina-approved CNA program, you can expect the course to take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. CNA courses have both an in-class and clinical portion. Sometimes the classroom portion is offered online, but you’ll need to attend clinical hours in-person.There are also some expenses associated with a CNA class. You’ll want to factor in tuition, textbooks, scrubs, and other supplies. Each school and class will be different, so make sure you look into the programs before applying.
What Happens When I Finish My CNA Courses?
Once you finish your CNA class, you’ll receive a certification stating that you completed all the requirements. You’re now ready to start applying to CNA positions in medical facilities or home health aide jobs in SC.
Caregiver University: A Better Alternative to CNA Courses
If you’re interested in becoming a caregiver but don’t want to spend extra time or money on a CNA program, Commonwise Home Care in Charleston, SC offers a better alternative—Caregiver University (CU).CU is our one-of-a-kind, in-house training program specifically designed to prepare caregivers for their careers. Commonwise only offers this program to our caregivers, but anyone can apply to be a caregiver regardless of past caregiving experience.
What’s Special About CU?
The Commonwise CU program is unique in a couple of ways:
Teaches hospitality skills: Whereas CNA courses only teach practical skills, CU teaches practical skills and hospitality skills. Hospitality skills are softs skills that allow a caregiver to truly care for and treat each client with honor, respect, and compassion.
Online caretaker training courses: CU has an online portion that takes roughly 8-hours to complete. The online lessons teach you both hospitality and practical skills in an engaging way. CU online isn’t a bunch of text to read but rather a collection of videos, games, and interactive activities.
In-person training with feedback: We want our caregivers to thrive in their roles. Once you finish the online training, you’ll perform various skills and walk through job-specific scenarios with our Care Managers. They’ll offer you helpful feedback to better prepare you from the start.
Not only is Commonwise unique in the ways it teaches and prepares caregivers for their on-site roles, but working with us has some excellent benefits.
The Benefits of Working at Commonwise
At Commonwise, we believe that caregivers are vital to our success. As one of the best home health aide jobs providers in Charleston, SC, we offer many benefits to our employees:
Greater caregiver proficiency: CU better equips our caregivers to handle their job demands. We believe that our caregiver training will better prepare you for a caregiving career than any certification program.
Generous pay: Commonwise leads the home care industry in caregiver wages. We know what it takes to provide quality care day-in and day-out, and we pay our caregivers accordingly.
On-going training and support: Our caregivers also receive on-going care and support. Care Managers (registered nurses and masters-level social workers) work closely with our caregivers personally and professionally to provide help along the way. Additionally, we have “Level-up” days throughout the year so caregivers can get new training and be eligible for salary increases.
We pride ourselves on our excellent caregivers and seek to value them through career development and monetary compensation.
The Best Home Health Aide Jobs in SC
Caregiving provides a great career opportunity for anyone looking to care for aging adults. It’s a growing industry, and the job outlook is excellent.Becoming a caregiver requires no prior experience or certifications. Some people do have a CNA certification, but it’s unnecessary to start a career in caregiving. With a program like Caregiver University, you can learn all the caregiving skills necessary to provide expert in-home care. Ready to start a promising career in the home care industry? Commonwise Home Care is a premier in-home care employer in SC. We offer the best in-house training to our Caregivers to truly set them up for long-term success. Not only is our caregiver pay is the highest in the industry, but we genuinely look after our Caregivers through on-going training and support. Apply today and begin your new, fulfilling career with us!