Caregivers wear many hats

Caregivers have a tendency to take on many hats. I tend to say that “caregivers wear many hats”. This is so true in so many ways. A caregiver can be an assistant, physical therapist, a counselor, a teacher, sometimes nurse among many other things.

A caregiver is an assistant more often than anything else. They assist in the daily activities that their loved one of client takes part in. This can be oral care, bathing, preparing meals, ambulation, transfers from bed to chair and vice versa, and that is only to name a few.

I like to think the most important role a caregiver has is being a teacher. The caregivers role as a teacher in to instruct their loved one to be as self reliant as possible while also teaching them to ask for help when needed.

Being a teacher

An example of this would be your loved one has rheumatoid arthritis. They have issues holding utensils for eating. A way to get around this is to have special utensils that are more rounded to get a better grip and then to teach the loved one how to hold them. Another example of this would be the loved one has a remote control for the television, we can teach them which buttons do which thing. Those are just some examples of how a caregiver can be a teacher to our loved ones.

Being a counselor

A loved one may need a counselor from time to time. Our role as a caregiver can be to be a sympathetic ear. By listening we can often come to some conclusions on how to help. If our loved one is experience some depression due to an affliction of some sort or if they are depressed because they are not able to do what they were once able to, we can offer some suggestions of some alternatives. Maybe with those alternatives, it can help your loved one to get out of the funk they feel. Also they may not feel like they are a prisoner inside their own body.

Keep in mind, that even though we are going to want to just do everything for them because it is faster and easier than waiting for them to do it and teaching them how to do it, it will be better for the loved one to learn how to do it themselves with their physical or mental handicaps.

Have a wonderful day, don that cap and have a care!