Support Worker

A palliative patient in a facility or community should be cared with utmost dignity, respect, warmth and empathy. Client's right to autonomy should also be respected by encouraging independence. During the end stages of life, client's preferences and choices should be respected. A Palliative client should also be provided privacy at all times.

I always advocate an environment of respect, tolerance and civility at my workplace and have not been involved in a conflict with a co-worker during my career however, in my opinion, it is always important to take your co-worker in private, away from the residents and the family.

I would try to calm my co-worker first and listen to why he or she is angry. If unable to do so, I would immediately notify my charge/resource nurse.

An employer will be looking to see you've understood and listened to the twofold question. It is common with such questions that interviewees get distracted answering the first part and forget about the second.

Interviewers are not solely looking for case details, they want you to talk about the end result for your service user and your role in delivering the outcome. Give an outline of the case, but place emphasis on how you were sensitive to the best interests of the service user in your actions and the outcome.

Your answer needs to show an employer you have knowledge, experience and understanding of relevant legislation within areas like mental health or child protection. These are always changing so it is essential you keep up-to-date. You may then delve deeper into your areas of expertise in your answer.

The importance is not only to facilitate daily procedures, but to give their clients a meaningful existence which encourages independence and provides natural daily survival skills.

This is intended to show employers you will work well with other social workers and your management team. It will also allow employers to find out if you have the softer skills and values for social care. The best example will show how you have listened to colleagues and supported them. Highlight positions of responsibility you had and how you supervised others. Preparation is key here so have an example that clearly shows why team working was important and how your skills influenced the positive outcome.

I am compassionate by nature and never lose my temper. I understand that this position requires a lot patience as one is always dealing with difficult situations. I feel well equipped to handle the demands of this position because of my inherent nature to be calm and tactful. By virtue of this, I have handled many adverse situations in this role.

I was assigned to a particularly irate patient with dementia. One day, he got hold of a kitchen knife and threatened to end his life. During the 20 minute ordeal, I talked him into handing me the knife by employing psychological tactics. This was by far the most harrowing time and tested my ability to handle an adverse situation successfully.

This gets candidates to think about how the other person is going to feel. They need to show they can do the job empathetically, encouraging the individual to do as much for themselves as possible, while offering support. The most important thing is to always communicate. Show you understand what needs doing, but highlight that you would give the person the choice as to whether they want to have a bath or go to the toilet.

You need to explain what you would look out for and the signs that someone is in a safe environment. For example, you need to look around at their surroundings, does the person look cared for, do they have somewhere clean to sleep, do they have food and water available, are there signs of abuse and have there been any behavioral changes? The care worker would need to speak to the person to see if they reveal anything and if they have ongoing concerns, report it to their manager. We need people who take the time to follow up with someone if they are worried.