Adapt own practice to meet the needs of an individual

Working in the care sector means that you will constantly be updating your skills and adapting your practice to best serve the individuals that you support.

All care staff must work in a person-centred way to meet the needs and wishes of the individuals that they support, which will begin with identifying what their needs and wishes are before tailoring your practice to fit their requirements.

For example, if an individual prefers to communicate using Makaton sign language, you would need to learn Makaton yourself to communicate with them effectively. This could be formal training sessions arranged with an outside agency or in-house by your employer or even informal on-the-job training with the individual themselves and other care staff.

You may need to be trained how to use equipment that is specific to the individual.

If you have previously worked with individuals with profound learning disabilities where you had to do everything for them including personal care, bathing, feeding etc. and then start working with an individual that requires very little support, you may find the adjustment difficult in the beginning. However, it would be important that you change you practice so that the latter individual can maintain their independence.