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Managing The Stress ~ Making The Decisions ~ Discovering The Meaning |
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Caregiving |
Solutions To Your Caregiving Situations Throughout Your Caregiving Years |
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2003 Family Caregiver Survey Results Your Experiences in Your Words
What advice would you give to a healthcare professional who helps caregivers?
Talk to the family without the care recipient around as many times there are different things going on.
Talk to caregivers about helping themselves, and help them to find things outside caregiving to do.
Be supportive.
There are really healthcare professionals that help caregivers? *gasp*
Health care professionals must be more sympathetic to the needs of the family. When the family is begging for honesty, we must be told. And most importantly, healthcare professionals must be ready and prepared to deal with end of life issues to help us families, because what ends up happening is the end is left to us. We get stuck with all of the decisions which is so painful and we definitely need guidance.
Know what resources are available and be able to comment on their quality
Remember that the caregivers need as much care as their care recipient. Listen to what the caregiver has to say and treat them with respect, remember that they are with their care recipient 24-hours-a-day and know them better than anyone.
Be polite and understanding. Patience with caregivers, especially help with emotional stuff.
Show concern.
Identify and bond with the caregivers.
Listen well before speaking.
Listen and respect the caregiver; they know the patient’s needs better than you; communicate often.
Provide suggestions.
Check the patient, you may notice something the caregiver missed.
Don’t be condescending; respect family caregivers.
Smile--be accommodating; don’t promise what you can’t deliver.
Listen to the needs and be concerned about family as well as the patient.
Inform the family well without bias or prejudice.
Help us deal with burnout.
Be aware of changes to recommend new options.
Encourage wellness for the caregivers.
Keep tabs on elimination; any chronic physical or mental condition can result in problems exacerbated by medications.
Provide practical advice; consider the care recipient and speak at their level.
Try to agree with person; make meal time pleasant, set times for meals, bath, walks and try to keep schedule.
Understand, console, counsel; doctors should listen to family members.
Be more understanding; use everyday language and don’t talk down to me.
Care recipients and caregivers are unique individuals. Each person is different; different things work for different people.
Don’t talk down to caregivers--use lay language--be realistic about situations.
Learn all you can about the illness.
Inform them of issues they may encounter.
Show us the tricks of the trade.
Listen; provide information.
Be patient and caring about situation; have someone in office follow up with patient.
Be more available; i.e., return calls more promptly.
Schedule appointments to avoid caregivers taking time off from their jobs.
Listen and thoroughly address the concerns and questions.
Be thorough, be sure I understand everything I am being told.
Don’t assume we are doing okay just because we don’t say much.
Help us to verbalize what we’re thinking and feeling.
If you could make any changes in your community that would help caregivers, what would they be? What advice would you give to a new caregiver? What has been your greatest lesson learned as a result of your caregiving experience? |
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