A Personal Care Attendant (PCA) is someone who assists an individual with a disability with activities of daily living. A person with a physical, sensory or cognitive disability hires a PCA to assist them with tasks such as bathing, dressing, housecleaning, meal preparation, feeding and more. The services that a PCA provides may enable the individual to remain at home rather than in a nursing or group home.
A PCA can be anyone from a registered nurse to a friend or a neighbor. Any caring individual with a desire to help others can become a PCA. PCAs can be live-in or can come to the individual’s home. Some agencies will allow boyfriends/girlfriends to work as PCA’s.
Finding a PCA can be a daunting task. You need to prepare for the process. Begin by calling your local Center for Independent Living to get information and assistance, but keep in mind that you are not their only client and don’t rely on them to do all the work. In her book Avoiding Attendants from Hell: A Practical Guide to Finding, Hiring & Keeping Personal Care Attendants, author June Price suggests that your first step after contacting a CIL should be to make a complete list of your personal care needs
After your list is made, start advertising. Many CIL’s will run an ad in the local newspaper for you, but the best advertising and recruitment tool is word of mouth. Tell friends and family that you are looking. Post flyers on church and grocery store bulletin boards. Ask to make a short announcement at a club or organization to which you belong.
After you have recruited several PCA’s, it is time for interviews (p. 34). Many CIL’s suggest conducting interviews at a neutral location, such as a small café. Once you have selected a few that seem compatible with you, consider conducting the final interview in your home. This allows for a “hands-on” interview to determine which candidate is best able to meet your physical needs (transferring, etc).
After you have hired the candidate that best fits your needs and personality, it is time for the training period. Depending on the level of care that you require, training a new attendant can take as little as one day or as long as a week. For example, a person who needs minimal care (1 – 2 hours/day) may need only one day to train a new attendant. Someone who needs more extensive care will, naturally, need more time to train an attendant.
Ideally, you should have the departing attendant (or family member if this is your first attendant) train the new attendant and supervise their first few days doing your care alone.
The best advice that can be given on how to work well with your PCA is to find a good balance between employer and friend. If you become too close with your attendants, some may try to take advantage. Remember, you are the employer; you know what needs to be done and how you want it done.
Also remember that PCAs are human. A bad day can happen to anyone. Problems at home shouldn’t be brought to work, but it happens sometimes. Try to be patient and understanding. You can care and be pleasant while still maintaining a good working relationship.
Always have a backup in place in the event of a child’s illness, a death in the family or some other kind of unexpected emergency, it is essential to have a backup plan in place so that you will not be left without care.
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