Reading Skills for Healthcare Workers

Tanya is a certified nursing assistant. She is qualified to work in a hospital, in a long-term care facility, or in clients’ homes as a home health aide. She chose to apply to a home health agency for a position as a home health aide. Clients who seek out home health care are often referred to a home health agency by a hospital or a long-term care facility. Sometimes, clients or their families call home health care agencies and ask for health care in the home.

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Tanya is a member of the home health care team. Other members of her team include a doctor or other primary care provider, a registered nurse, and a case manager. In addition, some clients receive visits from specialists such as therapists and social workers. Often, clients’ families are vital to providing health care in the home also. Tanya follows the client’s care plan that was written by each client’s registered nurse. She often consults with the members of her team in order to provide personalized health care for each client.

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Being a home health aide has its advantages. Tanya’s schedule is flexible. She sees different clients throughout the week, and her schedule changes every few weeks. Tanya has excellent organizational skills, so she is able to create a schedule for her clients that works well for them. When they need to change their times for her visits, Tanya is adaptable. She also enjoys working independently. When she is working with clients in their homes, the members of her team are not assisting her directly. She is on her own. Finally, Tanya’s clients expect her to arrive at a specific time for each visit. She plans her travel route from house to house so she will be on time.

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Being flexible, adaptable, and reliable are important characteristics for a home health aide.