The Rewards and Benefits of Being a Caregiver

There’s an old saying: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” While challenging, our caregivers will be the first to tell you that the benefits of being a caregiver make it an incredibly worthwhile and fulfilling career. Have you ever thought about sharing your gifts and talents with seniors in your community by providing home care assistance? 

If you’re wondering what it takes to start a professional caregiving career, here are five key character traits. 

1. Compassion and Empathy. Being compassionate and empathetic means understanding what a senior is going through. This means showing support and kindness to seniors and their families who could be dealing with a change in health, recovery from a hospitalization, or simply the effects of growing older. 
2. Communication. Excellent verbal and written communication skills are crucial in caregiving. From recording notes about a senior’s day in his or her care plan and interacting with seniors to ensure their care needs are fully met, to sharing updates about changes in condition with medical professionals and family members, clear and concise communication is a key component in all caregiver interactions.
3. Patience. Working with seniors who are impacted by age, disability or a health condition often means that there will be challenges in daily life. For caregivers, it’s vitally important to take these challenges in stride, to bring a sense of peace to frustrating situations, and to focus on providing understanding when navigating difficulties. 
4. Flexibility. Life doesn’t always go exactly as we plan, and for caregivers to be successful, it’s important to be flexible, showing a willingness to put the senior’s needs first, and ready to adapt to changing routines in order to provide exceptional, consistent care.
5. Trust and Dependability. Seniors and their caregivers develop unique and deep bonds, often over a period of many years. As with any other relationship, the senior/caregiver relationship is based on trust and dependability. This means that caregivers show up when expected, follow through on tasks, and look out for a senior’s best interests. 

Now that you understand more about some of the qualities that are important for caregivers to possess, you may be wondering how to take the next steps to become a caregiver yourself. At Dakota Home Care, we’re always looking to add people to our team of home care assistance professionals who want to make a difference in the lives of seniors in our community. If this sounds like you and you’d like to explore the benefits of being a caregiver, including flexibility, advancement opportunities and professional and personal growth, here’s the process:

1. Application and Interview. After completing our online application, if it appears that you may be a good fit for our agency, we’ll contact you for an interview. During the interview, we’ll get to know more about your family caregiving experience and any other life experience you’ve had that may translate to becoming a successful professional caregiver.
2. Screening. After the interview and passing our background check process, qualified candidates receive an offer of employment.
3. Training. You will be fully trained to ensure you feel confident in your role and are equipped with everything you need to provide exceptional care to our senior clients.
4. Client Matching. You will then be matched with senior clients based on availability, skills, personality, and shared interests. We work hard to make sure that the senior/caregiver match is as comfortable as possible to lead to a strong and lasting bond.

If having a positive impact on seniors is your passion, a career in providing home care assistance may be the perfect fit for you. Contact us any time at (877) 691-0015 to learn more, or use this form to apply today! We’re always looking for kind and caring people to join our team, serving families throughout Bismarck, Mandan, and Fargo, ND.