Sarah Bigby, Holland, MI, Medical Assistant. Has been a DCW for 9 years. She gave it a try because it is in the medical field and offered flexible hours that allowed her to care for her young child. She stuck with it because, “It still gives me the flexibility to maintain my life and take care of my children, and then also helping others.” She states she has never had a particularly difficult client and they and the families make her work easy. She provides anything from companionship to “extreme care where they can’t get out of bed and so you do everything for them. You bathe them, feed them, try and move them around as much as possible.” Yet, she doesn’t find the work hard. It seems to come naturally to her. She feels fortunate that the agency she works for provides vital training, support, and takes care of liability insurance.
Sarah’s big concerns are for keeping professional boundaries because her clients become like family, and she worries that she might injure someone, although she never has. This worry is more pronounced when a client is a lot bigger than her and may not be able to assist or has dementia. She says it can be “a little nerve wracking but because I’ve done it enough times, I am constantly communicating with the client about how he’s feeling. If he is weak at that point, you don’t push it. You have to communicate with them.” Despite her skills and love of the work, Sarah thinks about leaving the field due to the low wages. After 9 years, she is making 11.75 per hour and feels she is at the top of her earning potential as a DCW.