Caregiver Duties

Nowadays, many elderly couples stay on their own. At such times, even if one of them falls ill, it becomes difficult for the other to take care of him or her. Not only in this case, but in general also if any family member falls sick and needs extensive medical care, the family members cannot manage this task and that is when a caregiver is hired. The caregiver will stay at your home or stay with the patient for some specific hours, as required.

Caregiver Job Description

A caregiver can be described as a person who helps the sick person to live a life with comfort and ease. Though this is a very noble profession, the caregiver average salary is not much. A caregiver earns about USD 18,000, annually. This is mainly because there are more voluntary caregivers than professional ones. However, now awareness towards this field is gradually growing and many people are taking it as a career.

Caregiver Duties and Responsibilities

Personal Help
This is one of the main responsibility of a caregiver. Most of the time, the patients find it difficult to do things like clothing, combing and other grooming activities. So it is the responsibility of the caregiver to help the patient to take a bath and groom. If the caregiver is expected only to help the person dress, than you ask him to come twice a day. It should also be made clear to the caregiver that he should be present during the entire time the patient is bathing. If the patient is not to be bathed everyday, that also should be made clear and the caregiver should be asked to come on only some specific days of the week.

Toileting
Infant, old or injured, almost each patient requires help for this issue. The caregiver needs to be present each time the patient needs him. This is not only necessary for comfort but also for hygiene.

Medical Care
The caregiver should be completely aware of the medical history and the present medical condition of the patient. The caregiver should be instructed by the doctor about all the things that need to be observed in the patient which may include monitoring blood pressure, temperature from time to time. Medical care also includes the reporting of any ups and downs in the health of the patient to the doctor, immediately. Reminding and giving the patient medicines on time, which may also include application of ointment and dressing, is also an important duty of a caregiver.

Housekeeping and Transportation
Preparing the meals, dusting and scrubbing the house, changing the linens regularly, laundry, doing the dishes, receiving and sending mails etc. are also the responsibilities of a caregiver, if he is a full-time assistant. Along with these duties, he also has to take the patient wherever and whenever required. This includes the patient's regular visits to the hospital also.

Companionship
Though this is not a duty, a caregiver is expected to give company to the patient. The caregiver should see to that the patient does not feel lonely. He can take him for a ride in the garden or read aloud to him, play games etc. He should also assist the patient to social events, if needed.

There might be some other duties like shopping for the patient or giving him therapy etc., but that depends from patient to patient. To sum up, I would say that a caregivers' duty is to take overall care of a person, just like a nurse or a mother does!