BackCaregiver for the elderly – responsibilities, what is the job like?
Caregiver for the elderly is a tough but rewarding job. It is a very demanding job that can be a lot of fun. It involves helping an older person with their daily tasks. Helping such people is a huge support for them. What is the job of an elderly carer like? What are the responsibilities and salaries of care workers?
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Carer of the elderly – responsibilities
- A typical day as a carer for older people
- What qualities are needed in caring for older people
- How do I become a carer for the elderly?
- Course – caring for older people
- How do I work with older people?
Carer of the elderly – Responsibilities
An ageing population is making working as a carer an increasingly popular profession. However, it is not an easy job and not everyone will be suited to it. Caring for the elderly involves helping them with their daily chores. The range of responsibilities is usually broad and depends on the degree of the senior’s lack of independence. It may also depend on the place of employment. What are the most common duties of an elderly carer?
- taking care of the senior citizen’s hygiene (washing, dressing, combing, assistance with physiological needs)
- housework (cooking, laundry, cleaning)
- changing dressings
- shopping
- contact with the senior citizen’s family and relatives
- organising leisure activities (walks, games)
- maintaining a social life (contacts with neighbours etc.)
- paying bills, doing errands at the post office, offices
- filling prescriptions, keeping appointments with doctors
- keeping an eye on medication
- looking after your pet
- helping people get around
- companionship and support
- monitoring health and body condition
- feeding
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A typical day for a carer of the elderly
- Morning toileting – helping to use the toilet, washing and changing clothes, administering medication.
- Meal preparation – doing the shopping, preparing breakfast, lunch, tidying up
- Organising leisure time – time for napping, relaxing, visiting relatives
- Evening toileting – preparing dinner, administering medication, helping with hygiene.
What qualities are needed in caring for the elderly
Working as a carer, where you have contact with other people – requires the right aptitude and a good approach to the senior citizen. The work itself is quite demanding; you need to be physically fit as well as mentally. What qualities should a carer of the elderly have?
- Empathy – working with people requires understanding the other person’s needs. If you have no experience of working in elderly care, empathy makes you work intuitively.
- Patience – older people may be irritated by their condition and may react aggressively. In such situations, patience is useful to keep them calm.
- Forbearance – allows us to empathise with the patient’s situation. We know that the person is behaving inappropriately for a reason. Sometimes you have to repeat the same sentences several times or answer the same questions.
- Responsibility – caring for a senior requires vigilance and taking the work seriously. Our client may need our care when we least expect it.
- Ease of contact – allows us to build warm relationships with the mentee and their family.
- Physical fitness – is needed to facilitate one’s work. There are times when you need to lift a senior, wash them, dexterity helps with this.
- Assertiveness – in this job you need to be able to say “no”. A senior may not want to fit in a diet or ask to skip medication. We cannot then agree to such requests.
- Good organisation of time – the carer has a wide range of responsibilities, organisation will make the day easier and help to create a plan.
- Imagination – when working with the elderly, you need to be one step ahead. Care must be taken to ensure their safety at home and outside the home. A senior, at any time, could fall over, so it is a good idea to get objects out of the way that could be dangerous.
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How do you become a carer for older people?
Working as a carer of the elderly is an increasingly popular profession. It requires adequate preparation and aptitude. It is not necessary to have a special education to work in this profession. However, if you have a degree in nursing, pedagogy or psychology, your chances of employment certainly increase. It is worth doing a course in caring for the elderly in order to perform your duties legally and competently. The course confirms our skills and is attractive for future employers. It entitles you to work in care facilities.
Read also: Does work guarantee a person’s happiness?
Course – caring for the elderly
The course consists of acquiring knowledge related to the work of a caregiver for seniors. Knowledge is needed in this profession:
- o chorobach wieku starczego,
- pierwszej pomocy,
- analiza pomiarów (ciśnienie, tętno, cukier),
- zasady dezynfekcji, sterylizacji,
- zasady prawidłowego żywienia,
- psychologiczna wiedza, jak radzić sobie z trudnym podopiecznym
- profilaktyka odleżyn
- zasady higieny
How to work with older people?
Working with the elderly is hard work, but a lot of fun and rewarding. In order to make the job easier for yourself and to maintain a good relationship with the client you need to:
- Be a support to the senior – listen and talk a lot. Older people need attention and companionship.
- Keep active – Offer to exercise or stretch together. This will not only improve physical fitness, but also mood.
- Monitor health – Take care of your senior’s health. Respond to any reported ailment.
- Don’t do everything – Give him or her a sense of independence.
- Adapt to habits – Every senior has some habits. Adapt to them. Older people do not like change.
The job of carer is very important for many families who cannot care for their loved ones. There is an increasing demand for this type of profession in the market.
If you want to try your hand as a caregiver for the elderly – get in touch with us! We care about the competence of our employees.
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