Supporting outreach care in education

We open such a topic for many reasons. One of them is that many people with reduced self-sufficiency or seniors desire home care. However, this wish cannot always be fulfilled because there are not enough qualified people. And it all starts with the students. They need to know an overview of the options for choosing future employment and knowledge of how care takes place in the home environment. There is a need to break the stereotypes associated with field care and thus highlight modern trends that focus on home care.

We consider it significant to promote field care in educational programs and professional practice in medical secondary and higher vocational schools. We aim to set up students' professional practices in such a way that they broaden the range of employment opportunities and increase students' motivation to practice in the field. 

Based on the results of the mapping exercise among secondary schools and social service outreach providers, we established definite criteria with all of them that are important for setting up the pilot project. The project will include the model, scope, and content of professional practice in direct care.

The project will help to set up professional practices in direct care so that students have the opportunity to gain experience in caring for clients in the home environment and so that more people with reduced self-sufficiency (for whatever reason) can stay as long as possible among their loved ones at home. We will do this again in a participatory way and involve students, schools, providers, public administration, and other potential partners in the whole process.

The project is currently in the design phase. 5 South Moravian secondary schools and 20 direct care providers have expressed interest in participating in the pilot scheme.