Official Review: Trust me I’m a care worker

[alwaysdaddygirl]

Kudos for your review! The author patients are extremely lucky to have him. I only read a few pages. With all due respect, my once concern is the title of the book. With all the cases of elderly abuse, I have seen or hear during my ten and half years of full-time caregiver is heart-wrenching. Many elders suffer in silence because of fear.

Again, the few pages I read and the review, this author is an angel from God. My hope is that when those who suffer elder abuse from bad caregivers will not get flashbacks from this title of the book. I am no way trying to be mean. My heart forever breaks for all those elderly that trusted there caregiver and were abused.

If you went through elderly abuse or you know someone who has, please know that all caregivers are not the same. Please, know that whatever crap the bad caregiver told you is more then likely lies. You do not have to suffer. This book will show proof that good caregivers exist.

Sadly, every profession in life will have the bad apples. Maybe try adding numbers for help in the book. Most importantly, prayers. Never forget. God is always there. He works in mysterious ways.

"All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle."
Francis of Assisi, The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi

[Katungu]

I admire the author's patience with people he was looking after. Looking after old people is not easy. He had to look after old people with ailments and mental challenges such as depression and dementia. He treated his clients with dignity, which is a rare thing. A beautiful book which gets one thinking about their own mortality and really what plans one has made for their old age.

[tmazonga]

Trust Me, I`m a Careworker (Extracts from the Diary of a Careworker) By Christopher Bulteel


What would you do, if for reasons beyond your control, you were made to provide care to a senile octogenarian with the following as your only brief: “Client… Jarvey Topper, 94 years young, fully mobile, needs watching at all times. On no account should you leave this client alone at any time. Jarvey suffers from senile dementia and acute short-term memory loss and may need help in finding the toilet”? And what would you do, if Jarvey convinced you that he badly needed the outside toilet and you left him there to use it only to realize that he had wandered off to an unknown destination? Well, that is exactly what happened to the narrator of Trust Me, I`m a Careworker (Extracts from the Diary of a Care Worker). So, figure out for yourself what it is that care workers go through as they perform their daily tasks throughout the world. Here is an example of a difficult encounter the narrator recalls when he attempted to communicate with a withdrawn client and the latter`s rebuff: “I`ll tell you here and now that I have absolutely no interests, have never played card games or anything silly like that. I have no desire to go anywhere, read anything or watch pointless television programmes. I don`t like any sort of music, never read and have no intention of saying anything about my past. In short, I am the most boring person that you are ever going to meet and if you insist on sitting here with me, I would ask that you do so in total silence”.


The book is a solid, well-grounded, eye-witness account of life as a social worker. The author takes us right into the homes of his clients and makes us see them at close quarters in their hours of greatest need so that we can get an unforgettable feel of what goes on in the social care profession. He is also honest enough to unreservedly share with us, not just his moments of triumph but also those of embarrassment, frustration and outright failure. Interestingly, the narrator enters the care business from a chequered background that includes heather farming, studies in catering and catering itself, as well as grocery sales. However, just as would-be catholic priests leave everything behind to enter the celibacy of priesthood as a vocation rather than a well paid job, Bulteel left a good home job for what he himself calls “a vast workforce who made a massive contribution to our society but were only just managing on breadline wages”. He rightly calls the profession a “calling” and states with satisfaction that he had at last “found my niche in life”. So, what more can we ask of him? Being a “diary”, rather than a “novel”, or even a “chronicle”, Bulteel`s account is basically one of looking back. It is retrospective. That is precisely why his book is said to belong to the non-fiction literary genre. However, thanks to that rich career of his, he is able to do more than just recollect the past and actually specifically and specially remembers “the wonderful people” that he helped to cope with “various ailments and disorders that were so often life threatening”. It is significant that while taking the reader into the intimate world of his clients, Bulteel at the same time respects their confidentiality. That is why from the very outset of the account, he states that he has “changed the names, locations and in some cases illnesses/disabilities to prevent any person mentioned in this book from being identified”. It is just like a doctor or nurse writing about his or her work experience without disclosing patients` identities. Is that not reassuring?


But what, really, is care working all about? Do the rest of us understand it? Do we know what it takes? Mind for Better Health who are located in London (England) and Cardiff (Wales) state that “health and social care workers are responsible for providing health or social care. This includes: GPs, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, health care assistants, counselors, therapists and occupational therapists.” The same source adds that “all health and social care workers must adhere to certain standards of care, including maintaining professional boundaries and treating people with dignity and respect.” The question that arises now is whether these health professionals on whom so much trust is placed by the authorities and the public always live up to expectations. Mind for Better Health pinpoints the areas in which such abuses could be perpetrated: psychological, emotional, verbal, sexual, discriminatory, physical, financial or material, and neglect” In fact, an article published in the British Mail Online in November 2011 by the journalist, Daniel Martin, screams: “Cruelty of the carers: damning report into home help for the elderly finds neglect so appalling some wanted to die”. The reporter precises that the report “comes after studies exposing the shocking standard of care for old people in hospitals and care homes across the country.” Yet, that is only the tip of the iceberg, because we all know that abuses in the health care sector, including social work, are rampant. That is why the daughter of one of the aggrieved care pensioners is quoted in Mail Online as having told an inquiry: “These small acts of cruelty are being enacted, possibly unthinkingly, every day.” From that perspective, Trust Me, I`m a Care Worker (Extracts from the Diary of a Care Worker) by Christopher Bulteel, serves to tell the world that even if there are quacks in the profession who give it a bad name, there are also still some honest and hardworking care workers like him who make care work a field to be proud of. Furthermore, by choosing the topic, Trust Me, I`m a Careworker, Christopher Bulteel seeks to restore confidence – at least at his level – in a sector which in his words “can be very trying, but also very rewarding”


It was easy for me to identify with this book because I once started a Master`s degree course in social work years ago while in London. It was an evening course which unfortunately I had to finally abandon because the hours clashed with those of my other activities. Even so, I place a premium on social work because when I worked as a Public Relations Officer for one of the London Boroughs and ran into a problem at work, it was a social worker – and not a lawyer - I took to defend me when the matter was being heard at the Council. He did a wonderful job and I won the case flatly. Furthermore, I was one privileged to gain an insight into this little-known world of social work when my wife worked as one. At the time, we lived in Luton in the Bedfordshire locality of the United Kingdom and I used to drop her off at work and return there to pick her up after work. So, I personally saw some of her clients and the way they behaved, in addition to the stories she told me about them. One talked to himself while insisting that he was having a conversation with his wife whom we knew had died ten years previously. Another, an 88 year old woman always shed tears like a baby when my wife was about to leave her. And another – an 80 year old man this time - claimed she could not go to sleep without my wife. When she asked him why, he replied: “You`re my wife. I didn`t marry you to be sleeping alone. Come luv, let`s go to bed. Aren`t you Mary?” Yet, the poor woman was neither his wife nor called Mary. He and his wife had divorced years ago and now lived apart.


Bulteel`s choice of the First Person form of narrative (“I” instead of the Third Person “He”/”She” is appropriate for highlighting a subject of such a magnitude. Ingrid Sundberg, in her article, Five Reasons to Write in the First Person Point-of-view states that the first person helps to achieve immediacy and connect with the protagonist; make the story believable; facilitate writing; and create a clear perspective or filter for the story. We see clearly all of these literary techniques in Bulteel`s book, which is much to his credit. The Amazon preview of the book which I read describes it as “a humorous insight into the life of a care worker”. Well, the reference to humour is not misplaced because to begin with, there is a pun on words there when one considers the narrator`s professional paradigm shift from “caterer” to “care worker”. Both are words which although medically different, nevertheless find common ground when it comes to etymology and phonetics.


Bulteel`s book makes me feel like going back to university and finishing that course in social work that I abandoned. Unfortunately, time does not seem to be on my side because while Bulteel swapped careers at 53, I am already 61 and implacably settled as a journalist and university lecturer. Even so, I strongly recommend this book as back up for case study students taking courses in social work. I recommend it in very strong terms to people of all ages and all walks of life because on a daily basis – and perhaps without realizing it or without sparing a thought for them – we live in communities with this “vast workforce who make a massive contribution to our society but are only just managing on breadline wages”, to quote Christopher Bulteel himself. This is because it has succeeded in making me understand better what goes on behind the scenes of the care worker industry.


The only criticism I have of the book is that the narrator is too hard on the family members of the old people in care. On the whole, he feels they are not nice enough to the demented octogenarians. But that may really not be the case because he may be unfairly using the short space of time he spent with them to judge the many long years during which they had had to put up with their taxing and nagging relatives. However, after reading the book, I did not just feel like going out to buy a copy for myself, I also started to look at the bigger picture which is going the extra mile and giving something to the many other care workers out there and the old men and women they serve so devotedly on a daily basis. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars.

[alwaysdaddygirl]

A person reading a title is not stupid to realize this person is different from their abuser. A person recovery from elderly abuse can possible have flashbacks just by certain words. Those words could lead to a memory.

Sadly, abuse can be physical, sexual, or emotional. This article is about the triggers and how help has been formed on social media:

https://www.bustle.com/p/what-do-to-if- ... ou-2954159

No, I never was in Master of Social Work program. I have graduated with a bachelor's in history with having learning disabilities, dyslexia, and lisp. I have been dealing with a mental illness since I was 14 and I am 40 now. I have been involved with countless groups of abuse recovery to help others. What they are, is between me and God.

Yes, this book is wonderful and this author is an extraordinary. There no question about it.

Please do not dismiss that words can triggers. I can send you sadly information of suicides because of words that trigger.

This is not about being right or wrong. This is being a voice for the victims. Sadly, many suffer in silence. I hope this book can reach out and help people.

[tmazonga]

Thanks for your contribution, Alwaysdaddygirl. It is insightful.

[alwaysdaddygirl]

You are very polite despite this discussion being taken awaken from your review. My apologies. Mahalo for not being offended tmazonga!

[tmazonga]

Thank you alwaysdaddygirl. I can`t be offended. We are here for each other and I believe that unity is strength. Nice day and happy New Year!

[alwaysdaddygirl]

Your intelligence shines again in those simple but powerful words. Mahalo! May you have a nice day as well and Happy New Year!

[greekbard_vty]

I'm a caregiver. And what I found in these pages, as much as a sense of humor, was a kindred spirit. Great review! Thank you!

[chelhack]

The review was very well written, Though I just find the book of much interest. Therefore I do not think that I will be adding Trust Me I'm a Care Worker to my bookshelf. But once again great review

[Waragu Samuel]

This review is a waoh! Care workers the world over do a lot of work which more often than not go unrecognized and consequently unrewarded. Thanks to Chris for offering us a glimpse into the lives of a caseworker.