Humans are emotional people. We are vulnerable to different kind of feelings, most especially as we reach the peak of life which is the senior age. It is not new to us when we heard a story of a friend’s grandmother which turned to be super emotional they cannot stop ranting. As saddening as it is, it is also inevitable that it will happen to our parents or family members; that we are soon going to witness how their reaction to certain situations will change.
As soon as we notice falls, either it is for the things they are handling or basically themselves, we should be vigilant right away of what’s going to happen next. We will see the pattern, from the frequent fall of the spoon and fork when a senior eats to sudden difficulties in maintaining positions while he or she is watering the plants. With these challenges, the pursuit of well-executed senior care is really significant.
While mostly similar to all kinds of care, senior care is something different that needs to be practiced and will absolutely require a lot of abilities from the one who is doing it. Although similar to the basic aspects of providing care, taking care of a senior is still completely different from providing care to a child. Senior care, also referred to as elder care, is a broad term that actually covers assisted living, home care, and practices dedicated to making support for the elderly more convenient.
It is very necessary for someone engaged in senior care to know what are the basic needs that he or she will be needing before diving in the circle. Before the commitment, it is extremely important that expectations are already set to avoid stress due to the sudden realization of the workload. Below are just some of the guidelines you might want to consider and must have to be the most effective person when it comes to senior care:
Patience
We might think that dealing with a child is tedious already and it could be the hardest caregiving job one person could imagine. Well, you can double that load of work when it comes to giving care for a senior. One note that simplifies the difference between giving care to a child and handling senior care is that a child is still capable of doing multiple things such as walking or holding the spoon alone, while a senior would really need extra effort to achieve a certain activity. This is where the battle for patience enters. You will never be an effective nurse if your patient breaks her glass of water and your temper burst with the sound of shattering glass shards. One thing that you need to prepare for is getting your patience to extend extra mile for an elderly. That is the essence of senior care.
Understanding
Most of the time, it is very difficult to read the elderly and what they are feeling or thinking. You would see them looking from afar and then you will wonder if they are thinking of someone of they are reminiscing that most unforgettable memory they had in high school. Sometimes talking to them leads to nothing, and you will find yourself summoning the power to extend your patience again as mentioned in the previous paragraph. Moreover, you can also encounter situations where you can see them doing an activity alone without even speaking. This is where the understanding of the elderly human behavior comes in. It is not a new thing to encounter problems with an elderly’s behavior along the way but you will need to cope up with the behavior they are showing and come into conclusion that the behavior roots from something.
As a caregiver to a senior, it is your job to determine the root of the behavior and completely understand its nature and the needs for it to be bearable in the work.
Willingness to Help
Apart from the aspects you need to have to be an effective senior caregiver, you will need to stir the mixture with the ingredient of vibrancy, energy, and the willingness to help. A successful senior caregiver does not only focus on the technicalities of providing the most appropriate and convenient care rooted from their experience and knowledge but they are also prepared to sit down with a patient and talk to them about stories that will enhance a senior’s recovery from any trauma or conflict.
A senior is very emotional and sensitive. He will tend to give meaning to all actions being done around him and somehow coordinate the importance of his existence to the plot, that is why it is beneficial to always give a sweet smile since it also reflects hope. After all, they deserve to see the world at its beauty even when time is passing them already.