Working in the Sector

Your roles in the health and community services sector across your career may range quite broadly in their responsibilities. Your duties, and the people you work with, will vary depending on the role you are working in at the time.

Some of the common entry level roles include:

• Personal care assistant
• Support worker
• Personal care giver
• Health support worker

When you first start out in a role in health and community services, you are often the first point of contact with a client coming into a health or community services setting.

It will be important you are aware of the responsibilities of your role, and only work within the boundaries and limitations of your role.

A position description, also known as a job description, is a document that outlines the day to day responsibilities of a role. When you start any new role, always make sure you have a copy of the job description as this will guide you in the expectations of the workplace. It will also tell you:

• Who your day-to-day supervisor is.
• Any important organisational policies and procedures to follow.
• Anyone you have responsibility for.

Your Job Description 

Your position description is the document which sets out the duties and responsibilities for your own role and is a very useful source of information. You should keep a copy of your position description where you can access it quickly, so you can check any details as required.When you first begin in your job, read the description carefully and make sure you understand the details. Talk to your supervisor and ask them to go through the description with you, so you can discuss any areas where there are details that are unclear. Many workplaces provide an induction period where you spend time with a more experienced worker for the first few days in the workplace. This is a great time to clarify your job role and make sure you know:

• What is expected of you.
• Who to ask if you have concerns or need information.
• What tasks are not a part of your job.
• What the limits of your authority and responsibility are.
• Whether you have any people who report to you.
• Who you report to.

Position descriptions can change over time, and with negotiation. Before you agree to any changes to your position, make sure you refer to your original position description and think carefully about your job role and responsibilities.

It is important to note, a key expectation of your role is to ensure you carry out your tasks in accordance with policies and procedures, and only carry out tasks that you are authorised to.

Role Boundaries

From time to time you may be asked by a client or someone other than your supervisor to do something that you would not normally do. In these situations, it's important you remember the limitations and boundaries of your role. You must always have clear instructions from your supervisor to carry out additional tasks if they are outside your normal duties.

Your Position Description may look something like this:

Many community services and health workplaces are team based. There are often members of the team who have different skill sets and backgrounds, and these team members collaborate to provide a wide range of services and supports. Working within a team context is a useful way of meeting multiple client needs and providing care and support in many different and individualised ways.

Each team member will play an important role in the clients care:

Instructions will be given to you in different ways in the workplace, depending on the tasks that are required and the role you have in the organisation. You should listen carefully to all instructions you are given so you can carry them out effectively. Let’s explore some of the situations where you might receive instructions in the workplace:

Instructions in Team Meetings

Team meetings are a way of bringing workers together who are part of a work group.They might all share a single goal, work area or be a part of a single work site such as a group home, residential facility or service location. Most groups will get together regularly to discuss issues, plan strategies and collaborate on tasks and activities that need to be completed. This is often done at a team meeting, which will usually be run by an experienced worker or supervisor. Team meetings may be quite formal, with a set of minutes taken to record what happens during the meeting and an agenda to guide the discussion. Team meetings can also be informal, and involve a more casual, unplanned approach to discussions and no set agenda. Both approaches have their role to play in different settings, and both can involve the giving and sharing of tasks and instructions.

Instructions Within a Project or Group

Sometimes groups within an organisation might work on a project or task in collaboration with another work group, or with people from an external organisation.This is a great way of building networks and skills across a wider area and helping people from various organisations learn more about each other’s’ work. If you are involved in a project or group activity, you will receive instructions about your specific role and tasks. You might be invited to join in discussions and put forward your own ideas as part of the group.

Instructions in Daily Tasks

Your supervisor or more experienced workers will guide you in your daily tasks. This may be included in a daily planner or task list, or you may be asked to meet with your supervisor each morning so you can be briefed on what you need to do for the day. Daily tasks will usually be very specific and will include details of the tasks you need to do, as well as information about times, dates, places and people that are relevant. You will need to report back to your supervisor to tell them what has been completed during the day and whether there are any tasks which have not yet been finished.

Instructions During a Handover

Some workplaces have workers who need to receive client-based information which must be passed from one shift to the next. There could be specific instructions or information which is critical to the appropriate care and support of the client, or details of tasks that are still to be completed. These instructions may be shared verbally or in writing, and it is important to check carefully to make sure you don’t miss anything important during the handover period.

You may not always understand the work instructions you have been given or understand what is required of you at work. If this happens, it is always better to seek clarification.

Clarifying information can be achieved by:

• Asking the person to repeat the instructions
• Using a clarifying statement or question
• Asking the person to show you what they mean
• Looking at a flow chart, diagram or video of the task being completed
• Watching another worker do the task first.

Some information in a health care or community services workplace can be complex or challenging to understand. Never feel worried or afraid of asking for instructions to be clarified, even if you must ask multiple times.

Clarifying Safety Instructions 

Some instructions relate to safety; either your own safety or that of other people in the workplace. These instructions could include:

• What to do in the event of a fire or evacuation.
• How to respond to a situation of violence or physical danger.
• What to do if there is a medical or first aid emergency.
• How to report equipment, which is faulty, damaged or dangerous.

Clarifying Client Specific Instructions 

Some clients have specific needs and requests that should be met. These instructions could be included in part of an individual planning and support document, or within a client file or case notes. Accessing and sharing these instructions can assist in providing appropriate support to a client, particularly when there is more than one worker involved.

Clarifying Duty of Care Instructions 

In some situations, you will have a duty of care responsibility to a client. As part of your duty of care, you may need to clarify the instructions you receive in order to fulfil your obligations. You might need to check what your own role is when working with a particular client, seeking guidance about the level of supervision and support which is expected or find out about the age and capacity of the person to make their own judgements and decisions in particular situations. Clarifying instructions in relation to the client will help you to maintain your duty of care responsibilities and carry out your work effectively.

Workplace instructions give you information about what tasks need to be completed as part of your work role, and they usually include information about the timeframe which applies to the instruction. The instructions you receive as part of your job may affect the completion of the work of others as well as having an effect on the health, wellbeing and outcomes of your clients, so it is important to do your best to carry them out in a timely manner. If you are collaborating with others on a task or project, think carefully about the timeframe which is reasonable for you. Try to avoid over committing to tasks that you cannot finish on time; it is far better to give an honest estimate of how long a task will take you to complete than to commit to something that you cannot really do.Your own timeframe for tasks will be influenced by:

• Your own skills and experience
• Your other duties and responsibilities
• Your ability to delegate other tasks
• Your skills at time and task management.

Using Digital Tools

Some organisations use a planning and collaboration tool such as Trello, Open Project or Slack to help them organise tasks, timeframes and collaborative approaches to work. Individual workers and small work teams may also use tools such as Google Docs to allow them to share input into a single document, edit the document and agree on comments and changes as they work towards a final piece of communication.Digital tools can be an effective way of helping workers who may not all be in the same physical location to work together on tasks and to set and check timeframes for projects and activities.

Some health and community services workplaces are very large, with people employed across multiple locations and in many different roles. Other workplaces are quite small, employing only a few people who provide services in specific areas and programs. Within both large and small organisations, there will be clear lines of communication which help establish and maintain the flow of information.

In some organisations, there is capacity to communicate beyond the workplace itself and to create information links with other workplaces. This is an effective and commonly used approach to communication and operations which fits well with capacity building and empowerment models of support.

Reasons for Inter-Organisation Communication

Inter-organisation communication occurs for many different reasons:

• To provide support to clients which cannot be provided by one organisation working alone
• To enhance community capacity and build locally based skills and knowledge
• To access specialist advice and guidance
• To meet the diverse needs of clients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
• To establish and maintain projects which achieve health and community services goals.

Many organisations have very similar reasons for doing the sort of work they do. They may agree on the reasons underpinning their work, hold similar values and beliefs and practice their support services in similar ways. We can describe these types of organisations as having a shared vision and values, and it makes sense for them to collaborate to complete tasks and projects which can improve outcomes for their clients.

Some clients have requirements and needs which may not be met within a single organisation. They may require very specific support or have needs which are complex or frequently changing.

Complex and Changing

Needs We know that many of the people who utilise community services are impacted by more than one issue, and many of these issues relate each other. For example, people who are experiencing homelessness may also live in poverty and have reduced physical health and higher incidence of mental illness.

We also know that some people are affected by more than one disability or have a disability which has multiple impacts upon their activities of daily living. For example, a person who has cerebral palsy may also have epilepsy, experience vision loss and communication needs.

People who are Aging

In Australia, one in seven people are aged over 65 years. People who are older may have changing physical and mental health care needs, and these needs can become more complex and challenging as they increase in age. They may require additional support to complete their activities of daily living, attend social and community-based activities, maintain family and friendship networks and participate in the life of their local community.
Meeting the needs of people who have complex or changing needs as well as those who are older may require collaboration and interaction with other organisations. This can be an effective way of accessing skills and knowledge which have been developed over long periods of time and are held by highly qualified practitioners.

Here are some strategies you can use to access expertise to meet the needs and goals of people with complex, changing or higher-level needs:

• Identify people in your network who hold specific skills and knowledge, such as mental health practitioners, adolescent specialists, youth workers, speech pathologists, diabetes nurses, alcohol and other drug workers.
• Make and maintain links with experts by contacting them regularly, keeping their contact details up to date and updating your own records if their details change.
• Ask more experienced workers in your own organisation about who to contact for specific concerns or needs in relation to a client.
• Use established policies, procedures and referral forms within your organisation to help you refer a client to another organisation or service.

Like most sectors, there is a specific ‘language’ associated with the health and community services area of work. This language can seem unfamiliar and strange at first, and it can take a while before you can use and understand the terms which are used as part of your daily work practices.

What is Industry Terminology?
If you think about any activity you do, you will probably find there are words and phrases which are used that are very specific to that activity. This applies to everything from sports and recreation to hobbies, travel and workplaces.

Some people use the term ‘jargon’ to refer to words which are known and understood only by people who are familiar with that activity. It is easy for ‘jargon’ words to slip into our everyday communication and make the language we use difficult for others to understand.

It is important to remember that, even when you do master the terminology of the community services and health sector, it will probably be unfamiliar to people who are outside the sector.

Digital communication is used frequently in many settings. It is an important tool in sharing information with a wide range of people across multiple locations, quickly, efficiently and cheaply.

Digital communication allows for mixed media messages to be shared and to create highly visual and engaging pieces of communication. It is important to use the correct terminology when using digital communication.

You will need to learn about the words and phrases which are used frequently in your sector, and make sure you are using them correctly and appropriately.

This table shows how digital communication can be used effectively in health and community services:

Written communication is used frequently in most workplaces, so it is important to refine your skills and ensure you can share information effectively in your work role.

There are many situations where you will need to communicate in writing:

• Taking notes during a meeting with a client
• Documenting actions and outcomes
• Filling out forms and requests
• Completing internal documentation in your workplace
• Writing emails
• Writing reports
• Requesting support or guidance
• Recording your daily tasks and goals.

Each of these situations requires you to use industry terminology correctly and appropriately. You should think about the audience needs for your communication, the language which matches the audience and whether there are any privacy or confidentiality requirements you should follow.

This table shows you how:

There are many situations when you will need to communicate verbally with your colleagues at work and you will need to be able to do this effectively to ensure the best care for your clients.

Just as with written communication, you should think about the audience with whom you are communicating. Plan your communication so that you are using language and terminology that will be easily understood.

Remember that words and phrases you use commonly within your organisation may not be understood by people who are outside it. This can cause confusion, embarrassment, and loss of meaning. Ultimately, it can make your communication less effective and more likely to cause a communication breakdown.

The way you communicate with people within your organisation is important. Just like any interaction, you do not communicate with every person in the same way.

You need to manage and modify your communication to suit the needs and requirements of your audience so that you are maintaining a professional and appropriate manner that suits the situation.

Communication Principles

Effective communication is the foundation of working with people and providing good support care to your clients. Three key principles when working with clients are:

1. Put the client first - you can do this by introducing yourself, smiling, using a calm and welcoming voice. Always show respect and understanding towards your clients.
2. Practice Active Listening - Active listening is important because it shows that you are paying attention to your client and what they are saying. Don't interrupt or judge. Try to paraphrase what your client has said. Watch your body language and facial features and pay attention to your clients non-verbal communication, such as their eye contact, gestures and facial expressions.
3. Talk with your heart - Honesty is an important part of communication between you and your client. You can show this by being kind, respectful, helpful and courteous. Always try to acknowledge your client's feelings and what they are saying.  Being heard and feeling validated are key factors to remember. 

Communication Models

Models of communication provide inputs for setting standard communication within an organisation. Types of communication models include:

One-way communication model

This is also called the Linear Model which is used to inform, persuade or command. For instance, when we watch or listen to the news or a seminar or when we are giving a client information about a service.

Transaction Model

This simply means the exchanging of words between a sender and receiver and works well when two people are communicating with each other.

Interactive Model

This is where ideas are exchanged verbally and non-verbally between two people. In this model, two people are engaging back and forth. For instance, when someone teaches another person a process and the person clarifies the instructions they've been given. 

Communication Protocols With Your Organisation

When you communicate with others in the workplace, it may be important to share the information with more than one person.

If you are using an email, you can include a ‘Courtesy Copy’ (CC) or ‘Blind Courtesy Copy’ (BCC). You should use a CC if you want the person to whom you are sending the email to know who else will receive it. You should use a BCC if you do not want the person to whom you are sending the email to know who else will receive it.

Communicating Appropriately Within Your Organisation

It is expected that you will always maintain a professional and appropriate method of communication when you are in the workplace.

You should always think about:

• Using polite, clear language.
• Avoiding swearing or poor language.
• Avoiding colloquialisms and expressions which may not be easily understood.
• Remaining professional.
• Matching your communication style to the audience.

Many organisations operate in a hierarchical model, with a leadership team providing high level direction and guidance to others within the workplace.

There may be departments or areas which provide support and care services settings or fields of work, and people who work at a range of levels of seniority. Many workplaces operate with a multi-disciplinary team which provides specific support and expertise to clients.

Organisational Charts

Your organisation may have an organisational chart. This is a written or visual document which shows you who holds which position in the workplace and who is responsible for providing supervision and direction to other workers.

You can use this chart to help you communicate effectively with others:

• Look at the chart to find out the official title of a person who is in a specific role.
• Check the spelling of their full name.
• Refer to them appropriately, using terms such as Dr, Mr, Mrs, Ms as required.

Often teams within an organisation will collaborate and refer clients to other organisations so that they offer the most appropriate support to meet specific needs. To do this, there needs to be capacity to communicate between different members of the health and community services workforces.
This capacity is based on a relationship where there is mutual trust, understanding and shared agreement on outcomes, goals and directions. It is also based on a sound knowledge of the various roles provided by support services, such as:

• Family support services
• Alcohol and other drug support
• Mental health
• Child protection
• Youth work
• Home based support services
• Homelessness support

Information Directories

You may be able to access information and contact details about people in other organisations through an information directory.

This can give you general information about the services provided, the names and contacts of people who are responsible for various program areas, and the links for making referrals or seeking further information.

Communicating Appropriately With Other Organisations

Just as you do within your own organisation, your communication with external organisations should be polite, professional and respectful.

Make sure you use clear speech and written communication and that you use the correct terms to refer to the names of people who hold different positions in the organisation.

Sometimes you may need to communicate via a referral form or online document, whilst other times you may be able to communicate verbally on the phone or in person.

Regardless of the method of communication, you should work to establish a professional relationship that is based on mutual understanding and agreement, and a clear focus on client outcomes and achievements.