Know What to Look for in a Senior Care Instructor

Taking care of senior people can be a tricky challenge for everyone, taking into consideration the physical, mental and psychological changes that they are going through. Caring for them entails a different approach compared to caring for people of other age groups. Before caregivers are exposed to such milieu, it is a must for them to experience comprehensive and quality preparation from a senior care instructor.

A senior care instructor plays a crucial role in educating caregivers because they are particularly trained to hone a caregiver’s skill in tending to the elderly or geriatric patients. Here are some of the qualities that you must consider in finding a senior care instructor:

A senior care instructor must consider, among others, SAFETY as an imperative aspect in caring for the elderly. Elder people are most prone to minor and major injuries because of the physical and visual regressions that they experience. Thus, environmental safety should be enforced by these instructors.

The ability to be EMPATHIC and develop ACTIVE LISTENING skills should also be a major quality of a senior care instructor. Elder people have a multitude of emotions that they need to vent out as they are in the stage of their lives where they feel regrets, resentments and other emotions which may render them vulnerable.

The senior care instructor must be able to develop MEDICATION SAFETY among the caregivers. Elderly people are expected to suffer from a number of conditions like diabetes, heart problems and other chronic diseases. Medications are essential in their daily lives, thus, a senior care instructor must be able to imbibe among caregivers the ability to safely administer medications among the patients.

Lastly, COMMUNICATION SKILLS are important matters for a senior care instructor to strengthen. Communicating with elder people requires proficient skills in listening and explaining considering the changes that elder people endure.

Senior care instructors must possess these qualities in order for caregivers to develop the basic skills in caring for the elderly. Caring for geriatric patients is challenging but it will come effortlessly with proper guidance and tutelage.

Photo Credit:Jeffrey Smith