Caregivers create a significant difference in their patient’s lives and their loved ones, but not everyone possesses the skills needed to become one. Caregivers must master some traits and abilities to be successful and deliver the finest client care.
Time Management and Organization
As a caregiver, you will benefit from having proper time management skills and being well-organized, as will your patient. Frequently, caregivers work with little monitoring, so employers are often looking for someone who can make the most of the time available to them by being efficient and productive.
When it comes to hiring, employers often look for timely people who can finish and prioritize all their duties within a specified period. Most of the time, when care patients’ everyday lives are structured and orderly, they will feel a great sense of comfort. To be a good caregiver, one must establish a meaningful routine suited to their clients’ needs.
Interpersonal Skills
You’ll be engaging with people the entire day while doing the duties of a caregiver, making it a pretty social job. Although being an extrovert isn’t necessary to be successful, but it does help. You’ll be better able to develop rapport, build trust, and foster a robust and open connection with your patients when you have good social skills. Plenty of home health patients feel lonesome, so these interpersonal skills will benefit you and, primarily, them. Involving themselves in a caregiver’s life might help alleviate some of those sentiments of loneliness.
Patience
Having patience is something that everyone suffers with at some point in their lives, but the most substantial caregivers appear to be better at it than others. Patience is the capacity to slow things down and the determination to succeed at communication, especially when the person you’re speaking with is irritated. It’s a virtue that patience requires you to remain calm and focused on the individuals under your care.
As crucial as a willingness to see beyond your ego is the ability to let your patient achieve their everyday tasks or speak about an essential topic or subject. Because patients typically deal with difficulties that make them feel confused, angry, and irritated, those with a long stretch of patience appear to be better caretakers.
Impatience is typically the result of these feelings, and while it’s a trait common to care for patients, caregivers can sometimes lose their cool. If you notice a caregiver losing their patience unhealthily and causing harm to clients, don’t hesitate to call a malpractice lawyer before it gets worse.
Initiative
It is common for caregivers to work on their own on the patient’s property. Additionally, nurses and doctors provide them with instructions and procedures to follow regarding medicines and wound care. However, non-medical care differs from medical treatment since you don’t have a physician following your tail, approving every step. The caregiver should feel at ease being proactive, making informed judgments, and acting in an emergency.
First Aid and CPR Basics
In most cases, caregivers are needed to be CPR trained, and they should be familiar with the basics of first aid. Due to their limited movement, many patients in care facilities are prone to various injuries. It is often expected that caretakers are aware of what to do in accidents such as falls, wounding or burning themselves, or experiences cardiac arrest. Caregivers should know how to assess and identify the extent of the injuries and administer care until emergency rescuers arrive. A CPR certification refresher course is available for those who currently have CPR certification.
Stamina and Physical Strength
People don’t all want to work at a desk all day. A caregiver’s day is filled with various activities, from helping patients eat and bathe and other Activities of Daily Living (ADL’s) to transporting supplies and lifting clients. Professional caregivers are often on their feet for long periods; therefore, they need to be physically fit with good stamina. It is common for caregivers to appreciate being active and roaming around a lot since it allows them to pass the time quickly and maintains an exciting day.
Communication
Caregivers must have strong written and vocal communication abilities. Even if your patient cannot converse verbally or in writing, you’ll still need to communicate with their families or other caregivers to review their care and updates on their health. You will have to engage with physicians, nurses, and other healthcare workers and relay the information you gather to the patient and their family members.
Training for effective caring affects more than just the patients who receive it. Also, it may provide joy, purpose, and significance to a physically, intellectually, and emotionally demanding profession. You’ll be well on your way to being a great caregiver if you focus on obtaining or improving the abilities listed above.