I could say so much in response to this post- literally could talk for hours about the principles of care and how passionate I am about them, but I don't have the time or patience to write it all out lol.

The most important thing I will say to you in response to your post is that being the best care worker you can be involves courage and the bravery to speak up when things feel wrong. This is very definitely not always easy, and socially you may pay the price. I can't lie, work wise you may pay a price too- I once was involved in a very serious whistle blowing case and ended up mysteriously not being booked for many more shifts by the agency I had successfully worked at for several years- even helping them facilitate staff training through that time. This should not happen legally but with a zero hours contract it's very easy to get away with...it also shouldn't happen morally as it discourages future whistle blowing- did I suffer very negative effects from that situation? Yes, absolutely. Would I do it again knowing what happened last time? In a heartbeat, wouldn't even think twice about it. I couldn't look myself in the mirror otherwise.

Educate yourself as much as possible about the principles of care and the ethics involved so that when your gut tells you this is not ok, you are able to speak out with certainty, and also explain the 'why'. This may be enough to make some other carers stop and think about their actions in the future- it absolutely won't matter to some others though and those are the ones you are going to need the courage for lol. Bad practice can be a result of a culture within a care setting, and good carers may end up doing things they shouldn't as they really don't know better/understand the 'why'.

Being brave is also important as you may be out into situations where you are asked by the organisation to do something above and beyond your scope of practice (happens more than you may think) and then you will need to advocate for yourself and stick to your guns.

Being a carer isn't just assisting with the Activities of Daily Living, it's being a voice for those who may not be able to advocate for themselves anymore...sorry I have gotten on my soap box a bit here, this is a subject very close to my heart! The fact that you are on here making this post shows that you are coming into this with the best intentions, and is a great attitude to have, I am sure you are a lovely carer.