Characteristics of Good Senior In-Home Caregivers

Unlike other careers where the only requirements are skills and some level of experience, a Brentwood caregiving job also requires compassion and is heavily dependent on the caregiver’s personality. This is because the job entails dealing with the patient’s deeper feelings. Some traits are inborn, while others can be acquired while doing the job. All in all, there are some traits that any caregiver dealing with the elderly should have. Here are the top characteristics of a good caregiver.

Patient

This job calls for lots of patience. Those who lack this virtue are in the wrong career. A good caregiver should be patient with everyone and with everything. Seniors have a way of doing their thing, in a very slow way, and this can get on a person’s nerves. One can easily get irritated by how slow seniors are or by how uncooperative they can be, unwilling pr unable to follow instructions. The situation can be made worse if the caregiver is a short-tempered person. They may engage in a verbal war with the person that they are supposed to take care of.

A patient caregiver will always be open to changes that come along the line of duty and will be able to adjust to them accordingly.

Trustworthy

In most cases, an in-home caregiver will be alone with the elderly at home. This means that the caregiver will have unlimited access to almost everything in that home. Trustworthiness is a virtue that counts here. There should be a high level of trust between the caregiver, the patient, and the patient’s family. It’s true that not all caregivers are trustworthy, but the caregiver you choose should not count in that category.

Compassionate

Being compassionate can be equated to having a tender heart. A caregiver should be sensitive to the elderly’s feelings. Having compassion means that the person will be able to have an emotional connection with the old and this helps them deliver better services. This is not to say that a caregiver should blow up emotionally at any point. It is true that the patient may be going through some pain, but a caregiver who starts becoming overly emotional will only make the situation worse. It can make the senior feel miserable and negative towards life.

Communicative

To survive in any job in Brentwood or in the modern world in general, one needs to have good communication skills. Caregiving job is not an exception. A good caregiver who intends to provide senior care services needs to be an effective communicator. A good caregiver should be able to listen attentively to the instructions given by the elderly, the doctor and the relatives of the patient. Failure to listen to the instructions could result in tragic incidences such as administering the wrong medication.

A caregiver should pay close attention to what the elderly is saying and execute the given instructions accordingly. In case of anything, the caregiver should be able to communicate with seniors and their family.

Reliability

It is the responsibility of the caregiver to take care of the elderly. This responsibility should be carried out without close supervision. The caregiver should always show up for work on time and execute all the required duties, such as preparing a healthy meal for your elderly loved one, helping them take a shower or take their medication on time, with a high level of diligence. Even if close family members of the elderly are not in Brentwood, they should be able to know that their loved one is in safe hands.