07 Oct 4 Tips For Success On Day One As A New Home Health Aide
Are you looking for some first day of work advice or thinking about a new job as a Home Health Aide caregiver? Here’s a complete guide on what you need to know for success.
Let’s review some Home Health Aide caregiver tips that will prepare you to do the best possible job. Keep reading to become prepared and ready to face your first day.
What is The Role of a Home Health Aide?
Home health aides will assist the elderly or other individuals with special needs, including children. These individuals served by HHAs may suffer from chronic illnesses, disabilities or impaired cognitive function with daily activities. Home health aides may assist their clients with daily personal tasks related to hygiene activities. They could also help their clients in getting dressed and other health-related tasks, including giving prescribed medications and monitoring their vital signs. Read more in depth about what HHAs do on a daily basis in our recently released article.
A home health aide is also permitted to perform duties including:
- Light housekeeping, like washing dishes and doing laundry
- Arranging transportation needs such as to doctor visits or for errands
- Planning a client’s schedule and setting appointments for doctor visits
- Shopping for groceries, errands, and cooking meals for a client
- Offering companionship and helping a client remain active socially, physically, and mentally
Home Health Aide training
Home Health Aides must be trained to act as an HHA before providing direct care. Individuals working in certified home health or hospice agencies must complete formal training and pass a standardized test, like that found at CareBridge Academy’s 75-hour program.
Once you’ve completed all of your training as a Home Health Aide, it’s time to start your career as a caregiver. When you’ve found a home healthcare company as your employer and you prepare for your first day, it’s absolutely normal to feel a little uncertain or anxious. After all, you’re working at someone’s home and new to the position as well.
Here are some suggestions for making this transition a little easier and more enjoyable, from experienced nurse instructors at CareBridge Academy training school.
Take the time to get to know each other
home health aide
On the day you arrive at your client’s home, spend some time getting acquainted with one another. Most good home health agencies will have already screened your client and matched them to your background and personality. However, it is still important for you to get a feeling for who they are as individuals. Being in another person’s home is an intimate and close experience. It will likely take your client some time to get comfortable with you as well. Encourage them to show you around the house and ask and answer any questions they may have. Talk to the client about your role as well. When possible, encourage your client to have loved ones present the first day to meet you. It’s another way to establish a connection with the family. It will also put both the caregiver and client at ease. Finally, it helps to open up the lines of communication.
Understand the ground rules
Everyone’s home is different, and everyone deserves to feel comfortable and secure in their home. Take the time to understand what your client or their family likes. Take note of any cultural differences and work to understand your client culturally and their beliefs. They may have various traditions and rules around the home. If you seek to better understand your client’s needs and preferences, you can settle into a routine quickly. By taking the time to do so, everyone will feel comfortable being themselves and it will set the caregiver up for success. By receiving honest feedback about daily habits and what is and is not acceptable in the home, everyone is going to feel happier and more at ease.
Have fun and build a connection
A great home health aide should provide both assistance and entertainment! You aren’t there for amusement, but a little fun is the best way to lift the spirits of those under your care. Remember, you are there for companionship as much as for the health care assistance and other chores that are a part of your tasks. Be aware of the chemistry that exists between you and the client. Remember, it’s important that chemistry exists between the HHA and the family as well. The HHA should be confident that the relationship is or will be positive, supportive and fun!
Special needs require special considerations for HHAs
If you’re going to be caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia, you should have specialized training to deal with the needs of the memory impaired. The same is true for any client that has unusual or unique circumstances or needs. If you haven’t received this training, or are uncomfortable in caring for someone with special needs right away, inform your supervisor before placement into the home.
On your first day together, you or the previous caregiver should spend lots of time going over the established routine. Routine is important and changes, even good ones, can be a struggle for those with dementia or Alzheimer’s. For older adults with memory issues, good communication with family members is essential.
Our training program gives HHAs the confidence to thrive
Home health aides (HHAs) and caregivers are extremely important positions in society and to the lives of their clients. You are responsible for maintaining the health and well-being of the elderly, ill, and disabled. The role has various tasks and responsibilities associated with it. Having the right training will set an HHA on a clear path to success. You could be changing bandages or distributing medications one minute, and then grocery shopping or helping to pay bills for clients the next. That’s why getting a formal HHA certification through a comprehensive HHA training program is crucial in a caregiver’s success.
Other healthcare workers are often located in a medical facility. HHAs, on the other hand, enter and work right in the patient’s home. They have access to the most intimate parts of peoples’ lives. They are often not regularly supervised and may not always have direct support in their roles. Because of this, it is imperative that HHAs are certified, screened, and go through a rigorous training process such as that offered by CareBridge Academy.
CareBridge Academy offers a caring, supportive, and thorough HHA program for prospective students. The accelerated course can be completed in just two weeks and has a reasonable cost. Sign up for the Home Health Aide certification program with CareBridge Academy today. Be prepared for your career to take off!
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