Caregiver from Casamance

Cherifa and Vanessa talk to us about the job of care assistant.

1. What does the job of care assistant involve?

Cherifa : My job involves providing hygiene, comfort, safety and interpersonal care.

Vanessa : It's a very wide-ranging job, depending on the sector and the department. On a day-to-day basis, we support the nurses in the day-to-day care of patients, and we try to help them as we work in tandem with them. We help patients in their day-to-day lives and give them moral support, because it's very difficult when they're in pain. We also provide nursing care.

2. How do you become a care assistant?

Cherifa: "I originally wanted to be a nurse, but I made other choices at the start of my career. As I didn't have the baccalaureate, I spoke to the job centre about my plans, and they advised me to take the nursing auxiliary exam and do the transition as a nurse. But in the end I stayed on as a nursing auxiliary and that's just fine.

Vanessa: "I did a nursing auxiliary training course that led to a diploma and lasted about 10 months, alternating between school and work placements, so that you can get into work fairly quickly.

3. What do you like about your job?

Cherifa: "It' s all about relationships, approaching patients, helping them, listening to them - there are lots of factors involved.

Vanessa: "It's not a repetitive job, the days are never the same and the patients are different, so we learn something new every day.

4. Do you encounter any difficulties?

Cherifa: "To be honest, I don't encounter any particular difficulties. I'm comfortable with my profession, I don't work alone, so even if there are difficulties, we try to resolve them as a team!

Vanessa: "It depends, there are days when it's really stressful when the workload is heavy (unforeseen staff absences, complex patients, requests, etc.) and it's sometimes complicated to do everything 'by the book'. After that, the team helps each other and gets on well together.

5. Will you still be doing this job in 10 years' time?

Cherifa: "In 10 years' time, certainly not, because I'll be retired! But until then I'll still be doing it.

Vanessa: "I think so, it's been 6 years so it's fine for the moment. But if you get bored, it's good to change sectors and departments so that you can develop and see other things.