Care assistant
A care assistant works in supportive roles in healthcare, for example in nursing homes, residential care units or home care services. The duties of a care assistant involve attending to the basic needs of clients and various support tasks such as cleaning or running errands. The profession requires interpersonal skills, responsibility, and precision.
Public and private units in health and social care, organizations, as well as entrepreneurs.
A care assistant must know how to attend to the basic needs of a client or patient. The profession requires an interest especially in working with the elderly and people with disabilities. However, a care assistant is not allowed to participate in administering medication.
This people-oriented work requires good interpersonal and teamwork skills. The profession also demands initiative and the ability to work independently. The work requires responsibility, confidentiality, and accuracy.
Sufficient proficiency in the Finnish language is necessary for practicing the profession. IT skills are an advantage. A care assistant must often be able to adapt to shift work.
The profession requires good health.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has issued a recommendation concerning the job description of a care assistant, competence requirements and the corresponding training in services for the elderly. The recommended training consists of modules from the vocational qualification in social and health care. The training does not lead to a qualification, but it provides readiness for supportive tasks in elderly and disability services.
If the participation of care assistants in medication administration is essential for the unit's operations, the care assistant must have completed training in medication administration, demonstrated the required competence, and obtained a written authorization for medication administration granted by a physician. The care assistant’s medication authorization is always client-specific and/or medicine-specific. A care assistant may not independently be responsible for a client’s medication nor administer medication alone.
Median salary
2320 €/mo
Private sector
2236 €/mo
Public sector
2371 €/mo
The data is based on the median income, meaning the amount of salary which is the middle of the salary amounts arranged in order of magnitude.
Source: Statistics Finland's structural statistics on wages and salaries