Caregiving Career- Tips for Caregivers

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I have been a caregiver since 2007. With breaks between clients, I have worked on the Internet as a Website Developer and Freelance Worker.
As a caregiver, I use to do one on one in home care work and now I am a caregiver at an assisted living community. Today was my first day as a caregiver to many clients. I realized today what I truly missed about care giving. I missed seeing elderly or disabled clients smile with satisfaction after I helped them with their assisted daily living tasks (ADL'S). I get a great feeling after seeing my caregiving clients smile and say Thank-you to me. Below is a list of skills a caregiver should have to become a successful caregiver. I am still in training for the hardest skills but will conquer them in no time. 

• A caregiver must be patient and friendly. There are those grouchy caregivers that obviously don't like their jobs and the clients can sense attitude which makes it worse for the caregiver. Clients will not like the caregiver and put up fights to do daily tasks. So this is one reason to be patient and friendly as a caregiver. There is a way to be fast and patient at the same time, for all of you who are on set schedules. This care giving skill comes natural to many caregivers. It comes natural to me...so check mark for me lol.

• A caregiver must be properly trained for the job. Knowing the below care-giving duties will help you get hired as a caregiver. 
• Transfers- Many clients will need to be transferred from their beds to chairs and chairs to toilets ect... You must be properly trained on transfers or you will hurt your back eventually. Most caregivers/CNA'S are suppose to wear gait belts to do transfers. Specially for bigger guys or women who need transferred. Always try to grab a co-worker to help you with full assist transfers if needed. (Transfers I do pretty well but need to remember to wear the belt)
• Catheters- Caregivers should be trained on how to properly clean a catheter. As a home care worker, I never had clients that had catheters. But today, I learned how to properly clean a catheter. You should train for both women and men catheters. 
• Changing an Adult Diaper or Depends- This is a most know for caregivers. You must know how to properly change an adult diaper. If you are lacking in this skill, there are Youtube videos online that demonstrate proper techniques. 
• Basic Skills of Care giving- You must remember to wear gloves and wash your hands. Also if any blood is visible, you should wear eye goggles. Confidentiality is mandatory as a caregiver. And of course be friendly, respectful and never be abusive to the elderly and disabled. 
• Vital Signs- Okay I have a confession to make. With all of my years as a caregiver, I have managed to not have to know how to take vital signs. Before I started my new job at the assisted living community, I did some self training online and learned the basics which helped me tremendously on my first day. I either need hearing aids or that stethoscope was broken today. For the life of me, I couldn't get the blood pressure readings. I didn't hear anything....So I need more training on taking vital signs. 

Thanks to my Parents Contributed by Milford Woods

Contributed by Milford Woods

Thanks to my parents I now have Direct.TV at my new place. It was the best housewarming gift I got! They knew I’d been pinching pennies the last few years to save up for my new house and one of the things I missed the most was the premium movie channels and all the sports channels the guys and I used to split so when I bought my townhome they surprised me with it for a year. I thought it was a really thoughtful gift and I’ve been really enjoying getting the rest of my place in line – around my entertainment system, of course! I’ve been watching a ton of ESPN and Versus and I’ve lost a Saturday or two in some good movies on Showtime but I think I deserve it since I’ve spent so much time fixing up the place the way I wanted it to be. I sure am glad I sprung for the condo with all the amenities I wanted like granite countertops, though, so I don’t have to worry about that!

Exercise Equipment for Care giving Clients

Hi Caregiving information followers! 

I would like to take some time to post how important it is for us to help our care giving clients exercise. I know, exercise is nobody's favorite thing to do. However, exercising with our Caregiving clients can become a fun activity. There are many physical activities that we can do that are fun that will encourage our clients to exercise. 

You may want to take a day out of the week and dedicate it to a short physical activity. Even if it is just pushing your client in a wheel chair around the block a couple of times. Or you can play ball with a foam basketball set. A foam basket ball will allow your client to safely catch and throw the ball without getting injured. Playing catch or basketball will be fun and safe. There is also outdoor lax wall equipment that can be used as a rebounder if your client or clients wants to throw the ball without your help. 

If your care giving client or clients are not bound to a wheel chair and are able to walk, jog or run, they may feel confident in exercising with a pair of Nike Zoom T5- White and Yellow shoes. I know I always feel better exercising when I have a nice pair of nike shoes on.

Caregiver Tips on Confidentiality

This is a small post to remind future caregivers to keep information and names about clients confidential. Do not talk about your clients to your friends, relatives and other clients. Caregivers need to remember that clients information is private.

If you receive a telephone call from a client, client's caseworker or clients family members, look around and make sure nobody is listening to your conversation. Any little information that someone gathers can ruin, damage or end your care giving career. Specially if employed through a state home care worker's program. You should always keep information to your self and within other co-workers or caregivers.

If you believe you need to tell someone something about your client, you should call their state caseworker or family member that hired your caregiving services. Also, sharing information with the next scheduled caregiver is ok as long as it pertains to what is needed done with client.

What do you do when a caregiving client gets hurt or injured?

Actions to take when client gets hurt, on your shift or not on your shift?

You can't be with your care giving clients at all times. Therefore this post is to help determine the steps to take if your client is injured while not in your care. I am going to use my personal caregiving experience as an example.

Two different occasions, I showed up at my work to help my caregiving client get ready for bed. To my surprise, my client seemed to be bleeding from the head when I got there. Client had fallen when not in my care and split his head on coffee table or desk. What should I have done? The list below tells the steps I took.

1. Approach and greet the injured client.
2. Ask the client if he or she is ok.
3. Apply pressure on the wound if the wound is still bleeding. (In my case, the bleeding already stopped)
4. Ask the Client if he or she will go to the hospital. (If client is non-responsive or confused, call 911) 
5. Ask the Client if they would like any pain medication to help the pain.
6. Wear gloves and clean the wound the best you can if injured client refuses to go to hospital.
7. Report the accident to the next scheduled caregiver or caregivers.


What steps did I miss if any? 
What would you do in this situation?

Caregiving Diary

Caregiving is a rewarding and stressful career to get into. I started family caregiving when my mother got very sick in 2007. She had a major fever, got taken to the hospital and was not doing well. She needed someone to care for her when she was in the hospital and when she finally got home from the hospital. She was barely able to walk and normal movement of her body was painful. Her body weight increased due to swelling and water retention. She needed oxygen tanks setup in her small home. She also needed to take many medications to decrease the pain and reduce swelling in her feet and body.

I cared for my mother for a few weeks while her medical and state caregiving benefits were being approved. I then was introduced to the home caregivers program where I signed up and became her full time caregiver.

My mother slowly got better while I provided caregiving services to her. She successfully took her medications and her pain was becoming more and more bearable. Then due to personal reasons and caregiver burnout, I wasn't able to provide caregiving services for my mom any longer. My younger brother and other sisters soon took over providing care for my mom. She was in much better health now, than she was before my caregiving help. So I felt pretty safe to move on to my other family needs and personal life. I then decided that being a caregiver was something I enjoyed doing. I have been a home care worker/caregiver since 2007. I will use this caregiving diary to share with you what I have learned from taking care of all my clients.  

This blog is going to be a caregiving resource and diary for all of those caregivers in need. I will supply personal caregiving experiences as well as caregiving tips that will hopefully help many other caregivers, homeworkers, and or caregiving clients. 

Are you a caregiver in need of tips and caregiving resources? If so please feel free to become a follower and comment below this caregiving post.

How to become a home caregiver in Oregon?