The relationship with your caregiver
A caregiver is a person who stays with your loved ones for long hours throughout the day. The caregiver takes care of all the small and big needs of your loved ones. The hard work of the caregiver and the benefits your senior loved ones get from them should be acknowledged. Understanding the relationship you want to build with your caregiver is also essential. Creating a positive relationship with your caregiver is extremely important for the families of the senior loved ones.
The patient and caregiver relationship can often turn into a difficult one. Illness, disability, and sickness make the family environment gloomy, which can also cause tempers to flare up. Such a scenario can have an unfavorable impact on the patient’s relationship with their caregivers. If such an environment, consisting of heated arguments and temper flare-ups, continues to exist, then healing and quality of care undoubtedly get compromised. Therefore, for healing to happen, the families must allow a healthy patient-caregiver relationship to flourish.
Five ways of maintaining a positive relationship with your caregiver
Respect the caregiver’s and your privacy
Once you gradually bond with the caregiver, you may wish to know more about them and their family. However, your caregiver may carry their inhibitions and be uncomfortable sharing their details. Therefore, respecting their privacy and not showing interest in their personal life is necessary. Similarly, it holds for you and your loved ones as well. Also, if you find your loved one unwilling to engage in a personal conversation with your caregiver. Then you need to explain the same to the caregiver politely. Your caregiver is here to provide care. They are there with you for long hours, but that doesn’t give you the freedom to share all your personal information. Respecting each other’s privacy is necessary if you want any relationship to last long. But if you both are on the same page and wish to divulge private personal information. Be respectful and keep communication with each other.
Communication
This is perhaps one of the most critical areas for building a solid relationship. When you have a caregiver at home for your loved ones, it is always necessary to communicate early and more often. Let them know in advance what you want from them. Your caregiver can perform better when they know exactly what to do. If there is something that you are not happy with, please do not wait to tell the agency. Instead, communicate with your caregiver as soon as possible. And simultaneously also keep the agency informed. Keep communication clear if you wish to build a solid patient-caregiver relationship!!
Appreciation
All of us loved to get appreciated. And this is true for the caregivers as well. More often than not, we tend to focus on things that do not turn out well. We tend to prioritize things that have gone wrong by the caregiver. This leads to misunderstandings and a lack of trust. It is always a good idea to appreciate your caregiver for the things that they have achieved. If you notice any positive behavioral change in your parents, don’t forget to thank your caregiver. Always remember, appreciation helps in the reinforcement of good behavior!!
Patience and compassion
Patience and compassion are essential for building any strong relationship. The caregivers must understand that they would require patience if the patient has suffered any brain injury or trauma. Exercising compassion and showing affection towards the patient will also help to a great extent. This is because such patients do not have proper control over their actions and cannot perform many tasks independently. In such cases, the caregivers must be with them to help carry out their functions. Many times, they are also expected to understand things. Your loved one might not be able to communicate appropriately. A positive approach, care, and compassion can help build a positive patient-caregiver relationship!!
Address problems skillfully
Problems are bound to occur. However, handling them smartly will help in building a positive relationship. The issues can be as minor as your caregiver showing up late or more significant ones as a personality conflict with your loved one. Whatever the problem is, handle it delicately. As far as possible, take the issue in a composed manner. If something is not right, don’t yell right away. Understand the actual problem first. Figure out what kind of situation led to the problem and then decide and give judgment. It is always best to avoid any communication with your caregiver when you are angry or upset. Let the storm within you pass, and once you are calm, talk to your caregiver. Words are best understood when said with a quiet mind!!
Benefits of a positive relationship between the caregiver and the patient
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Improvement in emotional health
Depression is a common condition that haunts our loved ones due to loneliness and isolation. This is one of the significant factors contributing to poor health, with caregivers around them for a considerable time of the day. They can help in driving away their loneliness and depression.
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Mental peace
With a caregiver around, you can know that your loved ones have companionship and someone to interact with. When you know your loved one enjoys the company of their caregivers, you are more relaxed, allowing you to do your work with total concentration.
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Companionship
This is the most crucial advantage of having a positive patient-caregiver relationship. The caregiver not only takes care of every single need of your loved ones. But also great companions for your loved ones. Your loved one has someone to talk to and spend time with. This is especially important when they are unable to venture out frequently.
You can expect compassionate caregiving from us.
Overseeing this can cause stress because you can’t be in 2 places at one time: taking care of your business and touring loved ones. I understand your requirements and put your loved one’s health and needs above anything else! Meeting your requirements is my top priority.
This will allow you to get some rest and ensure your loved one is properly cared for. Or maybe you want to spend more time with your loved one while taking a break from some rant business tasks like sending out emails, returning calls, or organizing let sales. So let’s chat about how I can serve you so you can take care of your business and your loved ones.
