How can nurses and care workers work more efficiently together?

Nursing support and care workers provide assistance support and care to people with a variety of health issues, for their welfare and that of the community. Be it in medical facilities or the home. This job can be both mentally and physically challenging. For example, in Japan, there is a shortage of care workers and nursing support. This is because of the aging society whereby the year 2025, one person among 5 will be aged over 75 years, and one in 5 people will be diagnosed with dementia.

This will make it a highly dåifficult job to endure, especially because the wages for a nursing position are also below the industry average. Despite that, the Japanese government is severely understaffed when it comes to caring workers. The labor shortage is also expected to worsen with time. Japan has for a long time has a homogenous culture, whereby they believe in keeping the bloodline pure. Essentially not interracial marriages are accepted by Japanese families. Making it one of the countries with the lowest numbers of foreign labor and favorable immigration and work policies for foreigners.

There are several care facilities for the aged around the globe. For those who experience dementia, among other chronic illnesses that require around the clock monitoring, often find themselves in care homes. Here they interact with nurses and care workers who work together to help in the care of their patients and administer medication as prescribed. The responsibilities of nursing support and care workers are similar.

Both of them help patients with tasks such as bathing or showering, eating, and dressing. If they work from home they may participate in housework such as cleaning and ironing to facilitate better health for the patients. This can be done by observing hygiene or performing chores that contribute to the betterment of the patient. Most of the time, people who need the support of a care worker fulltime experience mental health challenges, cardiovascular or metabolic diseases.

Additionally, they may experience acute long-term impaired health, that prompts them to seek the help of a nurse at home, or care workers at a facility. The two can group together to share knowledge on best treatment practices and knowledge of medication for certain diagnoses. They can also group together to share experiences that would make the work easier, and also to rally for the better work environment, pay etc.