Are you able to adapt? What does the elderly care industry use to attract young people? 丨 Talent shortage in the elderly care industry, college students enter the elderly care industry
At 6 a.m. on June 26, at the Changqing Nursing Home in Sanlin Town, No. 16, Lane 302, Yongtai Road, Pudong New Area, Lu Tianyi, a young man born in the 2000s who had been on night shift all night, got up early and started a busy day of work.
This year is the second year that Lu Tianyi has worked at Changqing Nursing Home in Sanlin Town. In 2022, after graduating from the nursing major of Shanghai Urban Construction Vocational College, Lu Tianyi came to work at Changqing Nursing Home in Sanlin Town. Can a local Shanghai boy, who is also a "post-00s", endure the hardship? How long can he work? Pan Xuehui, director of Changqing Nursing Home in Sanlin Town, said frankly, "To be honest, at the beginning, we had no idea."
"I didn't expect that Lu Tianyi was very down-to-earth and started from the front-line nursing position." Pan Xuehui told reporters. Lu Tianyi has done all these basic nursing work, including cleaning, feeding, changing diapers, cutting fingernails, wiping, bathing... "In rainy days like this, the air is humid, and many bedridden elderly people are prone to pressure sores, especially on the heels, sacrum, and both sides of the knees. These are the parts that need to be checked by the nurses." Lu Tianyi said with experience that the professional knowledge of nursing, management, social work, and smart elderly care taught in the school helped me get started quickly.
Lu Tianyi, who just started working, is helping an elderly man make his bed.
In fact, the elderly care industry is in great need of highly qualified nursing professionals.
Tongji University Affiliated Yangzhi Rehabilitation Hospital is the earliest established rehabilitation hospital in Shanghai and even in East China. The dual attributes of elderly care and medical care make the demand for caregivers more urgent. "In the hospital, we currently provide one-to-one, one-to-two, and one-to-four care. The number of caregivers has always been relatively tight and there is a gap." Nursing Department Director Xu Jianlei introduced that there are currently 176 caregivers in the hospital and a total of 803 patients. "In the care of elderly, seriously ill, and multi-disease patients, it seems that it is still a bit tight."
She told reporters that Shanghai currently has pre-job training requirements for relevant professional qualifications, and requires certification before taking up the post, but in actual work, some "hard flaws" are inevitable. "Most of them are between 45 and 55 years old, and some do not even have a high school education. In previous years, most of them came from provinces such as Anhui, and in recent years, most of them have come from Guizhou and other places." It is reported that the caregivers of various nursing homes and medical institutions are all sourced from third-party companies, and labor-capital relations are not affiliated with the institutions. The daily income of caregivers comes almost entirely from the patients' families, that is, "the more you do, the more you earn." "Therefore, the most realistic problem is: when the care needs of patients and their families become increasingly refined, caregivers will consider 'how many orders they have received' and 'whether the income is enough', which to a certain extent also causes a high turnover of personnel and inconvenience in management."
Xu Jianlei said that although the duties of caregivers are mostly daily life care and basic nursing, in the institution, how to use wheelchairs and crutches, how to prevent patients from falling, etc. are all the focus of post-employment training. "The nursing department is responsible for relevant training and supervision tasks, and focuses on strengthening rectification according to the results of regular patient satisfaction surveys." Mismatched services, loud voices, bad attitudes... Perhaps, some omissions in details will also "discount" the work of caregivers.
Therefore, the demand for elderly care workers is not just about quantity, but also about the need for highly skilled and highly qualified nursing professionals.
The huge gap in elderly care talent has made highly skilled nursing professionals in high demand.
As the first higher vocational college in Shanghai to offer a major in elderly care services and management, Shanghai Urban Construction Vocational College has sent more than 100 graduates to the elderly care industry since 2022. Cai Jingjing, the head of the major, said frankly, "Our graduates do not have to worry about finding jobs. Students will go to nursing homes for internships in their junior year, and generally stay. The employment rate has been 100% in recent years."
"The average age of our frontline caregivers is 45 years old," said Pan Xuehui, director of Changqing Nursing Home in Sanlin Town. "We go to Shanghai Urban Construction Vocational College to recruit every year, and we "grab" students even before they graduate through school-enterprise cooperation." In this way, Shanghai Urban Construction Vocational College has sent three graduates and three interns to Changqing Nursing Home in Sanlin Town.
Nursing staff accompany the elderly in nursing homes for rehabilitation training. With no worries about employment or unemployment, and a monthly salary of 7,000 to 8,000 yuan before tax, nursing homes are gaining more and more attention in the minds of young people, and more and more young people are willing to learn and work in nursing homes. "In our first year of enrollment, the recruitment ratio was 1:1. Five years later, the recruitment ratio has become 3:1. It has changed from students choosing us to us choosing students," said Cai Jingjing.
It is reported that as talents in the elderly care service industry are included in the list of urgently needed talents, more and more universities in Shanghai have opened elderly care-related majors. For example, Shanghai University of Engineering Science had its first undergraduate graduates in elderly care management this year. Schools such as Shanghai Zhongqiao Vocational and Technical University, Shanghai Nanhu Vocational and Technical College, and Shanghai Sibo Vocational and Technical College have joined the "track" of elderly care talent training.
Wear weight-bearing equipment to experience the pain of elderly people who cannot bend their knee joints to climb stairs.
How can young students who major in elderly care transform from being "babies" at home to becoming professionals who "serve the elderly"? "Changing your mindset is the first step," said Cai Jingjing, head of the elderly service and management major at the School of Health and Social Care of the School of Urban Construction. The first part of the course is the simulated experience of senior citizenship, so that every student can experience the "world of the elderly" firsthand. Lu Tianyi, who has worked for nearly two years, said with deep experience: "After understanding the feelings of the elderly, you can put yourself in their shoes and handle things from their perspective, so you won't be impatient. When there is mutual understanding, communication is more than half successful."
How to experience it? It turns out that at Shanghai Urban Construction Vocational College, the first class for every student is to put on reading glasses, headsets and other equipment to see the world that the elderly see and hear. "I put on my reading glasses, and the world I see outside is blurry." "After putting on the headset, all the sounds around me are blurry. I can only hear when others come close to talk." Some students couldn't help but say after experiencing it. After putting on special weight-bearing equipment and experiencing the pain of the elderly's knee joints that cannot be straightened, "I deeply understand the psychology of the elderly who need to be taken care of, and naturally I can understand that communicating with the elderly requires a special way." A student said with emotion. After the experience, these students have a compulsory course-wiping the body for the elderly at home. By first doing some elderly care services for their loved ones, they can realize the importance of elderly care and help them change their concepts.
Wear special glasses to experience reading newspapers with presbyopic eyes.
How to attract young college students to stay in the elderly care industry for a long time? Both nursing homes and universities are exploring this issue.
Provide training, provide a platform, and gain recognition. At present, Lu Tianyi is busy training front-line caregivers at Changqing Nursing Home in Sanlin Town. "The training of caregivers, from course design to practical arrangements, the nursing home has entrusted all these things to me. Although I feel pressure, I am also motivated." After more than a year of polishing, Lu Tianyi started as a caregiver and rotated through various positions. He has gone from a fledgling college student to an assistant to the dean. "He also took on administrative work at night, that is, the night dean. During this period, all matters, big and small, of the nursing home are handed over to Lu Tianyi." Pan Xuehui, director of Changqing Nursing Home, told reporters.
"Professional talents should not be wasted. We should give them opportunities, let them experience and see their own growth." Pan Xuehui, a teacher, recalled her own experience. In 2007, as a "post-80s" graduate from Changsha Civil Affairs Vocational and Technical College, she came to Shanghai to work as a nursing home caregiver. "At that time, the salary was 800 yuan a month, and I was responsible for the elderly's food, drink, defecation and urination, and my social status was low." Pan Xuehui said that what was even more confusing was that she always felt that she was doing auxiliary work at that time and could not see a future career path.
Now, the opportunity for elderly care talents has come, and Pan Xuehui especially hopes that young people can seize it. "However, they can't do it alone. The nursing home must support them, give them opportunities to exercise, and build a platform so that they can stay unshakable and continue to work in this industry." Therefore, the system's competitions, smart elderly care projects, skills improvement training... Changqing Nursing Home handed these precious opportunities to Lu Tianyi, and he lived up to expectations. He has now obtained a senior nursing care worker certificate and is currently self-studying the adult undergraduate health management major. Pan Xuehui said that the nursing home is striving for Lu Tianyi and hopes to send him to Japan for training and study next year to broaden his horizons and learn the most advanced elderly care concepts.
Wear special equipment to experience the difficulty of an elderly person who is hunched over and unable to walk.
Colleges and universities are also exploring. "Let young people see the talent demand of this industry and see that they can play a role in this industry, so that they can have a career planning path." Yang Lei, dean of the School of Health and Social Care of Shanghai Urban Construction Vocational College, introduced that the School of Health and Social Care of Shanghai Urban Construction Vocational College is broadening the career development path through cooperation with secondary vocational and undergraduate colleges, mutual recognition of continuing education credits and other measures.
Smart elderly care may be a space for young people entering the elderly care industry to "show their talents". "If you want to do a good job as a caregiver for a long time, it is important to understand the needs and personality of patients, and to establish communication and trust. Conflicts are inevitable, and the key is whether they can be properly resolved. If young people who have just stepped out of school and lack social experience can respond positively?" In the view of Xu Jianlei, director of the Nursing Department of Yangzhi Rehabilitation Hospital affiliated to Tongji University, the management of caregivers is currently more suitable for the transfer of senior caregivers or the selection of backbone forces from the caregiver team. "Perhaps, young people need a period of experience in the position of 'caregiver', and at the same time, they can bring new technical advantages, such as artificial intelligence and information management, to bring new vitality to the industry." It is reported that in September this year, Shanghai Nanhu Vocational and Technical College will open a new major in smart health care services and management. The first batch plans to recruit 40-50 students, and the school system is three years.
