Roles and Responsibilities

Most people want to have control over their own lives. As their needs change, they want to retain control over their lives for as long as possible and carry on doing what they want to do. Modern healthcare means that people live longer but may end up developing health problems. They are likely to want to stay in their home for as long as possible. Fewer people with disabilities are placed in residential care and are more likely to need help in the community. To meet these ends, the services provided by an organisation need to be flexible and responsive to meet the changing needs and wishes of the people needing support.

Your role may include working with the person’s whānau, as well as with other support workers and health professionals. This means support workers have the opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of the individuals they support. Whether working with people with disabilities, the elderly, those experiencing mental health challenges, or other vulnerable populations, support workers provide essential assistance and care, helping individuals lead more independent and fulfilling lives.

Your skills in planning, mentoring, and facilitation encourage a person to work towards achieving their goals, overcome any barriers they might have, and improve their social interaction and community involvement.

As discussed previously, there are many roles and responsibilities that a support worker must carry out on a regular basis. The following are some examples.

• Providing physical support, which may include helping with household tasks and personal care.
• Providing emotional support for an individual and their families.
• Supporting and helping with health care needs, including routine checks or administrating medication.
• Encouraging and supporting the development of personal skills through hobbies and interests.
• Teaching life skills, such as shopping, using public transport and paying for bills.
• Working with other healthcare professionals to ensure that all care needs meet the highest possible standards.

Support workers also help the people they support to form meaningful connections. This could be by aiding them in their hobbies and interests, connecting them with suitable community groups, enabling them to attend college or encouraging them to develop a new life skill such as cooking or money management.

Knowing these responsibilities will help you recognise your position so boundaries and ethical responsibilities are not clouded as to what you need to achieve.

Discuss own job role requirements with supervisor

Gaining clarity from your supervisor is vital for performing your job well. Clear communication and understanding of your tasks are essential for success. Seeking guidance not only improves your performance but also creates a positive work atmosphere. Getting accurate information helps you align with the organisation's goals and handle challenges better. So, staying connected with your supervisor is key for professional growth.

Engaging in discussions about your job requirements with your supervisor as a disability support worker holds significant importance for various reasons:

Reason	Explanation
Clarity	Having open conversations with your supervisor provides a clear understanding of your role, responsibilities, and expectations. This clarity is crucial to ensure you deliver the right level of support to clients while meeting the organisation's goals.
Alignment	Conversations about your job requirements help ensure your actions align with the organisation's mission, values, and policies. This alignment is vital for maintaining consistency and delivering services that correspond with the organisation's objectives.
Client safety and well-being	Your supervisor can guide you in adhering to proper protocols, procedures, and safety measures when assisting clients with disabilities. This ensures the safety and well-being of both you and the clients.
Skill development	Your supervisor can identify areas where you might need further training or development. Discussing your job requirements allows you to identify opportunities for growth and improvement, leading to enhanced service delivery.
Feedback and support	Regular communication with your supervisor enables you to receive constructive feedback on your performance. This feedback helps refine your skills and adjust your approach to better cater to clients' needs.
Problem-solving	When encountering challenges or complex situations while supporting clients, conversing with your supervisor can lead to collaborative problem-solving. Your supervisor's experience and guidance are invaluable in finding effective solutions.
Resource allocation	Your supervisor can assist you in prioritising tasks and allocating resources efficiently. This ensures you make optimal use of your time and resources to provide top-notch support to clients.
Team collaboration	Effective communication with your supervisor nurtures a collaborative atmosphere within the team. It facilitates the sharing of insights, best practices, and coordination efforts, resulting in a comprehensive support system for clients.

Working within limits

Understanding and respecting your own limits as a support worker is essential for the well-being of the clients you support while maintaining professionalism and adhering to legal and regulatory requirements. Being transparent about what you are able to do develops and improves opportunities for your personal and professional growth in the sector you have chosen.

In the role of a support worker, it is important to recognise tasks that fall outside the scope of your assigned responsibilities. When encountering such tasks, your responsibility is to identify them and then refer them to the appropriate person within the organisation. This process involves adhering to the established reporting policies and procedures set by the organisation.

By promptly identifying and referring tasks that are beyond your job role's scope, you contribute to maintaining efficiency and ensuring that tasks are handled by individuals with the necessary expertise and authority to address them effectively. Following organisational reporting policies and procedures is crucial in this process.

Tasks that may fall outside the scope of your role can vary and depend on an organisation's policies and procedures. However, they may include:

1. Medical procedures: Performing medical procedures that require specialised training, such as administering injections, changing medical devices, or providing complex wound care.

2. Legal or financial advice: Offering legal or financial advice to clients, as this requires expertise in those fields that disability support workers usually do not possess.

3. Diagnosis or treatment planning: Diagnosing medical conditions or developing treatment plans, which are responsibilities of healthcare professionals like doctors and nurses.

4. Psychotherapy or counselling: Providing in-depth psychotherapy or counselling for mental health issues, as this requires specialised training and qualifications.

5. Complex behavioural interventions: Implementing complex behavioural interventions or therapies without proper training and guidance from experts.

6. Medication Prescription: Prescribing medications or adjusting medication dosages which should be done by licensed medical professionals.

7. Legal advocacy: Representing clients in legal matters or advocating for their legal rights, tasks best handled by legal professionals.

8. Financial management: Making major financial decisions on behalf of clients without proper authorisation and expertise.

9. Maintenance of specialised equipment: Repairing or maintaining specialised medical equipment without the necessary training.

10. Emergency medical care: Providing emergency medical care beyond basic first aid, which should be done by qualified healthcare providers.

When faced with tasks that are outside of your role requirements as a disability support worker, it's important to follow the appropriate steps to ensure the well-being and proper care of the individuals you support. This generally includes reporting the situation to your immediate supervisor, who will then provide you with guidance.

It's important to note that certain tools and processes used can vary depending on the field of practice, the organizational policies, and general local legal regulations and their standards. Support workers should follow the guidelines and means provided by their respective professions to maintain the professional and ethical standards needed by the company.

Generally, support workers support professional and ethical practice by the following ten means:

Maintaining and upholding practices related to risk assessments

Support workers may use specific risk assessment tools to evaluate and manage potential risks associated with their clients. These tools assist in identifying potential harm and implementing necessary safeguards, resulting in making ethical and professional decisions related to client safety.

Following and upholding the code of ethics

Support workers follow a specific code of ethics provided by their professional organisation. These codes outline the fundamental principles, values, and guidelines for ethical behaviour in the respective fields.

Policies and procedures

Organisations have policies and procedures in place that outline the process required to support professional and ethical practice. These documents are made to outline the expected behaviour for certain scenarios and situations. They outline the responsibilities and guidelines for support workers' specific roles.

Using ethical decision-making models

Basic framework models are available that support workers may decide to use on certain ethical dilemmas. These frameworks or models are used to help support and navigate those complex ethical situations that might occur with you and the client.

The 8-step model that we talked about previously is a systematic approach to analysing those ethical issues and then gives you options to consider the various perspectives and then determine the best course of action.

Supervision and consultation

Regular supervision with a more experienced professional or consultation with fellow more experienced peers allows you as a support worker to discuss these challenging cases, the particular ethical dilemmas, and then seek guidance. These sessions, official and unofficial, provide an opportunity for self-reflection, feedback, and ethical decision-making support.

Benefits of supervision can include:

• Skill enhancement: Supervision aids in refining and advancing your skills, contributing to your effectiveness in assisting individuals with disabilities.
• Confidence boost: Regular supervision bolsters your confidence by providing guidance and addressing any concerns, making you feel more competent in your role.
• Problem-solving: Supervisors help you navigate challenges and find solutions, enhancing your ability to handle various situations that may arise.
• Personal growth: Through supervision, you can develop a deeper understanding of your strengths and areas for improvement, fostering personal and professional growth.
• Reflective practice: Supervision encourages self-reflection, allowing you to analyze your actions and experiences, leading to better decision-making and learning from your experiences.
• Client-centred care: Supervision aids in tailoring your support to meet the specific needs of each individual with a disability, promoting a higher level of care.
• Emotional support: It provides a space to discuss any emotional or challenging aspects of your role, helping you manage stress and prevent burnout.
• Consistency and quality: Regular supervision ensures that your support aligns with best practices and maintains a high standard of care.
• Learning opportunities: Supervisors can offer insights, resources, and training opportunities that contribute to your ongoing professional development.
• Team collaboration: Supervision encourages communication between support workers, fostering a sense of unity and shared learning within the team.

Professional development

Continuous professional development and awareness are crucial for support workers to stay updated with the latest knowledge, skills, and ethical standards. Training programmes and staff workshops help enhance competency as well as keep you up to date with ethical practice.

Confidentiality and privacy tools

Support workers often deal with sensitive and confidential client information. Tools like secure electronic databases, encrypted communication platforms, and privacy policies ensure that the protection of clients' confidential information is continuously maintained.

Community resources

Support workers often work with and collaborate ideas with community operations. These operations will have various resources and materials that they provide their users with, in a comprehensive support format, which clients can use or access. Having knowledge of these available resources is a huge benefit to the support worker, as they provide more information on social services, healthcare providers, counselling services, and advocacy organisations, which will ensure clients receive the most appropriate assistance needed.

Documentation and record-keeping

Accurate and comprehensive documentation is essential for carrying out ethical and professional practice. This written record format details all aspects of the important support monitoring provided. These record-keeping systems or processes involve standardised forms or tables to help the support worker maintain clear, confidential client records, which could then be circulated amongst the different teams involved in the client's care. In a legal sense, good record-keeping is also used for the protection of the support worker's actions or the provider's procedures.

Taking notes

Note-taking is a useful skill. You may need to remind yourself of instructions or the step-by-step details you've been given to complete a certain task. By taking notes, you can revisit what was actually said without relying too much on your own memory.

Notes may be taken using a notebook and pen, or you may take notes on a phone or tablet. 

Self-reflection

Finally, there is the practice of self-reflection or conducting a self-assessment. Self-reflection is critical for examining one's own professional or ethical practice. Support workers can use reflective methods such as journals, supervision sessions or debriefing discussions to evaluate their own professional or ethical actions.

Activity