Caring For The Caregiver

These stories provide an understanding of how nurses have reacted and coped with workplace dynamics, both in their personal and professional lives.

"It's time to give yourself some self-care. From morning to evening, whether it's assisting with hygiene or making sure your loved one gets to their doctor's appointment on time, a caregiver's work is never done. Though borne from love, caregiving can be exhausting both physically and mentally, which is why it's important to take care of yourself. No matter the time of day, Self-Care for Caregivers is here to help you create a self-care routine that is right for you. Replenish your mind, body, and spirit with short, easy-to-squeeze-in activities like: taker you emotional temperature ; accept the big feelings caregiving triggers ; practice mindfulness with the five senses ; get rid of the judge in your head ; regain your balance ; and more! Full of helpful advice, this empathetic, useful guide is the perfect everyday companion for you. Fill your cup with Self-Care for Caregivers." -- Back cover.

Family caregiving affects millions of Americans every day, in all walks of life. At least 17.7 million individuals in the United States are caregivers of an older adult with a health or functional limitation. The nation's family caregivers provide the lion's share of long-term care for our older adult population. They are also central to older adults' access to and receipt of health care and community-based social services. Yet the need to recognize and support caregivers is among the least appreciated challenges facing the aging U.S. population. Families Caring for an Aging America examines the prevalence and nature of family caregiving of older adults and the available evidence on the effectiveness of programs, supports, and other interventions designed to support family caregivers. This report also assesses and recommends policies to address the needs of family caregivers and to minimize the barriers that they encounter in trying to meet the needs of older adults.

"Nurses play a vital role in improving the safety and quality of patient car -- not only in the hospital or ambulatory treatment facility, but also of community-based care and the care performed by family members. Nurses need know what proven techniques and interventions they can use to enhance patient outcomes. To address this need, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), with additional funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has prepared this comprehensive, 1,400-page, handbook for nurses on patient safety and quality -- Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. (AHRQ Publication No. 08-0043)." - online AHRQ blurb, http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nurseshdbk/

With a foreword by Judy Woodruff, The Unexpected Journey of Caring is a practical guide to finding personal meaning in the 21st century care experience. Personal transformation is usually an experience we actively seek out—not one that hunts us down. Becoming a caregiver is one transformation that comes at us, requiring us to rethink everything we once knew. Everything changes—responsibilities, beliefs, hopes, expectations, and relationships. Caregiving is not just a role reserved for “saints”—eventually, everyone is drafted into the caregiver role. It’s not a role people medically train for; it’s a new type of relationship initiated by a loved one’s need for care. And it’s a role that cannot be quarantined to home because it infuses all aspects of our lives. Caregivers today find themselves in need of a crash course in new and unfamiliar skills. They must not only care for a loved one, but also access hidden community resources, collaborate with medical professionals, craft new narratives consistent with the changing nature of their care role, coordinate care with family, seek information and peer support using a variety of digital platforms, and negotiate social support—all while attempting to manage conflicts between work, life, and relationship roles. The moments that mark us in the transition from loved one to caregiver matter because if we don’t make sense of how we are being transformed, we risk undervaluing our care experiences, denying our evolving beliefs, becoming trapped by other’s misunderstandings, and feeling underappreciated, burned out, and overwhelmed. Informed by original caregiver research and proven advocacy strategies, this book speaks to caregiving as it unfolds, in all of its confusion, chaos, and messiness. Readers won’t find well-intentioned clichés or care stereotypes in this book. There are no promises to help caregivers return to a life they knew before caregiving. No, this book greets caregivers where they are in their journey—new or chronic—not where others expect (or want) them to be.

"Caring for the Family Caregiver is an extensive practical tool kit for health care providers across the healthcare continuum. Regardless if it is a mother caring for a child with a developmental disability, a wife caring for a husband with a long term chronic illness, or a daughter sitting at the bedside of her father who is enrolled in hospice, family caregivers are the silent "other patient" in the health care drama. Healthcare providers who do not attend to the needs of the caregiver not only inflict interactional suffering, but dilute their treatment by not engaging the caregiver as a partner. In fact, they may unintentionally do harm as the caregiver flounders and thus patient treatment fails. As noted by one dying cancer patient in an educational YouTube video of his cancer journey, "there are two patients not one." If we are to eliminate the interactional suffering experienced by family caregivers, we must train both the caregiver and the health care team for the important interaction and roles that are required for the successful care of the patient. Caregivers lack information, skills, and emotional support for the tireless task they are volunteering for. They need to be taught how to advocate for themselves and their patients and how to best communicate with the health care team. Likewise, health care providers have the skills and knowledge to provide outstanding patient centered care; however, they are not taught the importance of the family caregiver, nor do they always understand that experience or how to help"--

Care giving professionals are notoriously poor at looking after themselves; they give part of themselves everyday, see people at their lowest and most vulnerable. As well as being exposed to the physical trauma, they deal with acute psychological distress on a daily basis; their own and of others. Learning to still follow your dreams and have personal goals, many just put their life on a back burner and let others take over. This is a dangerous trait, as it leads to unhappiness, stress, discontentment and burnout. Many great people are leaving all areas of caring, because they feel they are running on empty. Giving excuses and blame for this to others, will not change anything. Take charge of your life, your choices and your outcomes. This to a carer will sound selfish, but in reality; what is going to happen to your patients when you are absent minded, make mistakes, get upset or angry, when you burnout and are no longer able to care for yourself, or them. Looking after yourself is not a luxury - it is a necessity, being resilient, knowing your boundaries and learning to say no, are fundamental for your wellbeing and for your patients. Learn how to off load self sabotaging thoughts, beliefs and habits. Choose what internal and external baggage you carry with you. Dump outdated thoughts, replace them with a more positive, protective and proactive outlook, to achieve better outcomes. Caring for the wellbeing of others is a fundamental part of you, but learning to care about yourself seems to take a lot of work. Seeing your needs, wants and desires as equal to everyone else, is a must. By keep giving small pieces of yourself to everyone else, when do you have time, energy or inclination to give to yourself? Compassion Fatigue is not acknowledge in the Northern Hemisphere, but the feeling of running on empty is undoubtedly known to all professions, volunteers and home carers. It is a silent killer, a demon that will take you emotionally, psychologically and physically to exhaustion. There are ways for you to feel better, to learn to love yourself and to live the life you desire and deserve, as well as giving to others. You have to take control and get rid of outdated thoughts, beliefs and habits. To be not just the best professional you can be, but the best person for you and for others.

Linda Abbit, founder of Tender Loving Eldercare and a veteran of the caregiving industry, shares her advice on taking care of an older parent or loved one and how to handle everything that goes along with this dramatic life change. Being a caregiver can be a difficult role. It requires patience, tenderness, selflessness, and hard work. Providing care for someone, whether it’s a parent, a loved one, or as a professional requires a high level of self-love and self-care. But while it may be a rewarding experience to care for a loved one, the emotional and physical stress of caregiving can lead to burnout and exhaustion—causing caregivers to put themselves and their own well-being in the background. How can you fulfill your role as a caregiver without losing yourself? Conscious Caregiver teaches you how to navigate caring for your loved one, whether it’s full-time in-house caregiving or hiring support from outside services. With information on how to talk to your loved ones about the situation, handle the emotional stress, stay financially secure, and take the time to care for yourself, this guide can help you care for your loved one and yourself at the same time.