A day in the life of a work experience student with Bluebird Care Oxford

Roxanne, a college student from Oxford, talks about her work experience as a carer with award-winning home care provider, Bluebird Care Oxford.

Hi! I’m Roxanne, I’m 17 years old and currently studying Health and Social Care Level 3 at the City of Oxford College.  

My course is great, instead of just being stuck in a classroom, there’s more hands-on experience. We have placements which allow students to experience what it’s truly like to work in a health and social care setting. The work experience is vital when applying for further education and jobs.

I chose to do my placement at Bluebird Care Oxford as I really admire the personal aspect of care which Bluebird Care provides. I’ve learnt that being a Bluebird Care carer is not just a job, you make a difference to someone’s life. Being able to deliver high quality care for the customer, to bring a smile on their face and ensure that their dignity and independence is maintained, is truly a brilliant service.

I feel blessed to have an such an experience from shadowing amazing carers such as the lovely Vicki! Alongside the guidance from my brilliant supervisor Carol, I have been able to gain much knowledge on many aspects of personal care and portable skills.  

I’ve learnt that as a care worker, every day is different. In the morning, I use to go to the Bluebird Care office, meet my supervisor and we discuss what I would be doing that day. Then Vicki and I would hop into the car and drive to see our first customer.

Sometimes Vicki would help bathing and dressing the customer, this helps the customer feel as good as possible when starting their day. It’s amazing how a simple activity like brushing hair, or helping the customer wear their favourite outfit can brighten up their day. We helped to prepare healthy meals as it’s important for the customer to maintain a healthy lifestyle. We also took the customers out on trips, like to the dentist, to do shopping, to a café or to the library. I really enjoyed taking them out as sometimes it can be a little daunting to go out by themselves. I’ve washed up dishes, vacuumed living rooms and made beds too, just helping round the house really. I think it’s important to treat the customer as you’d treat one of your family members.

We also chatted a lot to the customers; we saw the same customers regularly and I think that’s great as you can really bond with the customer and build trust and understanding. Many of them don’t have family or friends living nearby, so they really appreciate the company and a good chat, it really makes a difference. The customers themselves are really interesting, I’ve met people from all walks of life, with varying mobility and levels of pain.

I am thankful to Bluebird Care for the unique and personal opportunity to better my skills. I’ve loved my time here and will definitely miss it. Hopefully I’ll be back sometime in the not so distance future!