3 Your personal development

Your personal development as a healthcare assistant is very important, and some essential training will have been provided by your employer as part of your induction: for example basic life support, safeguarding, moving and handling, safe food handling, hand hygiene, fire safety, measuring and recording patient details (for example pulse, temperature, breathing and weight) and communication skills. During your subsequent career there will be ongoing training and professional development to enhance your skills further, and you are likely to have a Personal Development Plan (PDP) which enables you and your manager to think about strengths and development needs, agree your aims and objectives, and demonstrate your increased competence and achievements. This is important, especially as national bodies and professional organisations regulate the healthcare workforce and protect the public from harm.

Your PDP is an important document that is usually written annually with your manager at the time of your review or appraisal. It helps you organise your personal development for the year by identifying your learning requirements within your job, and monitoring your progress against them (Skills for Care, 2015a).

As a healthcare assistant, it is important that you have adequate functional skills which include literacy, numeracy and communication skills. These should preferably be to Key Skills Level 2 or GCSE grades A–C as you are likely to be reading care plans, recording data and giving verbal messages when you are with patients and colleagues. You might think about attending your local college or finding out if your union can offer support in this area. If you are interested in learning more, you might like to visit some of the suggested websites at the end of this section.

It is helpful to keep a continuing professional development (CPD) file as a record of your learning, development and achievement after your initial training. In this way you can provide evidence of the courses you have attended whilst in the healthcare assistant role, which will help you to reflect on the progress you have made, and to demonstrate to prospective future employers your commitment to self-improvement. The Introducing practical healthcare badges that you can collect throughout this course are another useful way to demonstrate your learning. You may wish to download these badges to keep in your CPD file.