CHALLENGES OF A CAREGIVER

Caregiving poses a very challenging opportunity for the caregiver or nanny. She or he needs to have foresight in what to expect about the person to be cared for. They have to be knowledgeable about the needs of the person, activities of interest, family members to communicate with and medications needed. Certainly, the caregiver or nanny may face a lot of challenges in taking care of any person. These come in the form of physical, emotional and social challenges.

Physical Challenges ​

A caregiver may experience physical challenges while taking care of the person. Assisting a person while he or she gets out of bed, walks, bathes and eats may take a physical toll on a caregiver. If the person being cared for has a large body type, the caregiver’s body has to be big enough to provide safe and adequate support. Physical strength has to be the same or greater than the person being cared for. Besides providing physical assistance to the person, the caregiver will also do housekeeping. Caregiving can be demanding physically since the responsibilities may be done round the clock. Therefore, it is vital that a caregiver be healthy and have a strong immune system against common illnesses.

Emotional Challenges

Since the person being cared for may find it hard to accept his or her condition and thus speak discouraging words about him- or herself, the caregiver has to be emotionally supportive. It can be challenging to make a person in despair feel hopeful and more optimistic. A caregiver has to be strong emotionally and not influenced by negativity. It can be draining to be emotionally supportive to any person who is struggling or suffering. Therefore, a caregiver must possess resilience of character and the ability to remain positive when others around him or her are not.

Social Challenges ​

The caregiver has to sacrifice being away from his or her family and friends and may feel isolated. Being a caregiver may entail around-the-clock duties, and not being able to see friends and family regularly can cause loneliness. It is important that the caregiver also sees other people during his or her rest days and retain as much “normalcy” to life as possible. Having constant communication with friends and family members may also help a caregiver feel less lonely.

Other Challenges

The caregiver has to follow medical instructions for the person being cared for with great attention to detail. The time and dosage of the medicines to be taken must be correct and must be administered in the right way. If the person to be taken care of will receive medical attention somewhere outside the home, the caregiver has to prepare everything needed. A list of all the needs of the person can be noted down in detail by family members.

The challenges in caregiving mentioned above show that this profession needs a very strong candidate - physically and emotionally. Taking care of an elderly person requires a lot of patience and a strong mind. The caregiver has to be ready to face these challenges.