Jump-start your career in professional caregiving with these tips from the experts in Walnut Creek home care.

There’s an old saying: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”  While professional caregivers will tell you that there are days their job feels like plenty of work, they will also tell you that more often than not, professional caregiving is fulfilling because of the difference it makes in peoples’ lives.

In working closely to aid others, caregivers utilize many different skills in order to ensure that the individuals in their care live full and engaged lives. In the event that you’ve helped a loved one informally as a family caregiver, you almost certainly know firsthand the important role of a caregiver – not only in helping with basic care needs, but also in helping to maintain dignity and independence.

If you’re curious what it will take to begin a professional caregiving career, and aren’t sure what skills are needed to be successful, continue reading to learn what home care agencies actively seek in a fantastic caregiver.

• Compassion and Empathy. Having compassion and empathy means understanding what someone may be going through. As a caregiver, this implies showing support and kindness to individuals and their loved ones who can be dealing with a rapid change in health, recuperation from a hospitalization, or the reality of a recently available diagnosis.
• Communication. Excellent written and verbal communication skills are vitally important in professional caregiving. From recording details about a client’s day into his or her care plan and interacting with clients to make certain their care needs are successfully met, to sharing updates about a client’s condition with family and medical experts, clear and concise communication is a foundation in every caregiver interaction.
• Patience. Working with individuals who might be impacted by age, disability or medical issues typically means that you will have challenges from time to time. For caregivers, it’s important to take these challenges in stride, to bring calm to frustrating situations, and to concentrate on providing compassion and understanding when navigating through difficulties.
• Flexibility. Life isn’t always predictable, and for caregivers to be truly successful, it’s important that they’re flexible, always showing a willingness to put the client’s needs first, and be ready to adjust to new routines so that you can deliver exceptional, consistent care.
• Trust and Reliability. Clients and caregivers develop unique and deep bonds, often over a long period of time. Like most other relationships, the client/caregiver relationship is made on trust and reliability. This means that caregivers need to show up when expected, follow through on tasks and must constantly look out for a client’s best interests. To make sure clients and families feel at ease with the caregiver paired with their family member, caregivers must go through employment screenings and meet ongoing training requirements.

Now that you know more about some of the qualities that home care agencies try to find when hiring caregivers, perhaps you are wondering what the next steps are in order to become a professional caregiver. At Hillendale Home Care’s East Bay CNA Training School, we offer the finest in Walnut Creek home care training. If you’re searching for a career that gives flexibility, advancement opportunities and professional and personal growth, sign up for our CNA or HHA training program now or call us at 925-297-2676 to learn more.