...The Gift of Giving: 4 Great Degrees for Caregivers According to the Center for Disease Controls (CDC), about 20 percent of U.S. households are impacted by caregiving responsibilities. However, millions of elderly American adults rely on professional caregivers for their health and wellbeing. Caregivers play a critical role in helping the sick, injured and elderly. While most caregivers are nurses, there are many other degree options for aspiring caregivers. Below introduces four excellent degrees for dedicated caregivers. Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) CNAs typically spend the most time with patients. This is because their primary job function is to care for patients through helping them with grooming, meals and housekeeping. CNAs also assist with select medical procedures and regularly take patient vital signs. CNAs play a central role in coordinating patient care between healthcare staff and...
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...Emotional and Psychological Burden on Informal Caregivers- In general, all articles explain that this is an area where more research needs to be done, especially in cancer patients. This research should extend into the bereavement period and beyond the palliative care phase. Burden is defined as a predictor of health and likely to have an adverse impact on a caregiver’s future (Nijboer). Caregivers often feel responsible, they make little use of professional services, and may become ill themselves. Lower socioeconomic status are assumed to have a higher burden, which leads to poorer health. The availability of social support and social contacts was found to be an important determinant of caregiver’s well-being. “Informal caregivers need to be recognized as equivalent members of the health care team”. In general, informal caregivers report anxiety, depression, stress, frustration, and fear when caregiving. Using surveys, it was found in one study that anxiety and depression are the leading factors that play into the burden. 55% of male and 36% of females were found to have moderate or severe anxiety (Oechsle), 36% of male and 14% of females were found to have severe or moderate depression. No significant differences found, but there was a trend that male caregivers were more stressed and depressed. Another article (William Haley) reports that particularly burdensome stressors is managing physical care, symptoms, and treatments, emotional support, and watching the...
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...CAREGIVERS AND THEIR WELL BEING Organization: Topical General Purpose: To inform Specific purpose: I would like to inform my audience what it involves to be a caregiver and the affects on their quality of life. Central Idea: To really understand the needs of a caregiver and the affects of their loved ones trauma on their quality of life, we must learn the role of the caregiver, the impact the trauma has on their lives, and the resources out there to help prevent a diminished quality of life. Introduction I. I. Attention Getter: I remember the day I got the news about my husband’s injuries. All I could think was “is he alive? Will he be ok? What can I do to help him get back on his feet?” Nothing prepared me for what would follow or how my life would take a backseat. II. II. Relevance: According to the Family Caregiver Allegiance, evidence shows that most caregivers are ill prepared for their role and provide care with little or no support, while suffering from poor health themselves.1 III. III. Credibility: As a caregiver myself, I have learned to readjust to the new life my husband and I have acquired. With help, I’ve realized how much of the tragedy had affected me and my health and the necessary steps to take and better myself so I can continue to provide him quality care. IV. IV. Central Idea: To really understand the needs of a caregiver and the affects of their loved ones trauma on their quality of life, we must learn the role of the caregiver, the impact the...
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...Caregivers of Dementia patients Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease. Caused by problematic supply of blood to the brain, symptoms include challenging communication, depression and anxiety, strokes, physical weakness or paralysis, confusion, changes in behaviour and difficulties in walking and unsteadiness. This paper discusses the problems faced by caregivers of patients suffering from vascular dementia who are above the age of 65 and possible recommendations to improve their plight through the review of the movie, Amour (a movie about an octogenarian couple, Georges and Anne, where Anne develops vascular dementia) and current literature pertaining to the topic. Georges “Put yourself in my place. Didn’t you ever think it could happen to me, too? Anne: “Of course I did. But imagination and reality have little in common.” Anne’s sudden speech arrest and frozen stare at the breakfast table with no recollection afterward are the first signs of a partial seizure. Caregivers, like Georges, who are not prepared for looking after patients are under pressure because of their increasing needs. Georges does not seem to mind this responsibility of taking care of her initially, but Anne’s condition deteriorates fast. She experiences profound right sided weakness and is bound to the wheelchair. Georges struggles to lift her from the wheelchair and make her sit on a chair or go the bathroom. Increased stress in his behaviour is...
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...Occupational Therapy and Compassion Fatigue: How to help the caregiver get care By Randi Johnson Hanson MSRS, OTR/L The topic of “Compassion Fatigue” has been a hot topic within the caregiving profession of nursing in the past decade. Joinson (1992) defines compassion fatigue as “a unique and expanded form of burnout in which the environmental stressors of the workplace coupled with the patient’s physical and emotional needs contributes to the caregiver becoming tired, depressed, angry, ineffective, apathetic and detached”. Given the psychosocial demands of occupational therapy as a hands-on caregiving profession, it is my proposal that we look at compassion fatigue within the realm of O.T. and how to help prevent it and how to refresh and renew ourselves in order to best meet our patient’s needs. As an occupational therapist, part of our practice involves helping our patients determine what their optimal level of function is given any underlying deficits. We may see people with psychological deficits (TBI, DD, and mental illness), physical deficits and age related deficits and it is our job to get them “back to the highest level of independence possible”. As with any caring profession, as OT’s we may take on the burdens and issues of our patients as our own. Under normal circumstances, this can be helpful in planning goals and treatment modalities, but if we start to experience compassion fatigue, we may be actually internalizing the traumas of our patients to the point...
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...18 Progress in Cardiovascular Nursing Winter 2008 www.lejacq.com ID: 6611 Heart failure (HF) is the leading cause of hospitalization for persons older than 65 years and often necessitates assistance from family caregivers.1,2 Approximately 40% of older adults are readmitted within 3 months postdischarge, resulting in significant health care costs.2,3 Indeed, more than one million hospitalizations attributed to HF cost the patient and United States health care system over $27 billion a year.1 Hospitalizations related to HF are complicated by the aging process, comorbidities, and psychosocial concerns that affect successful management.2 In a study of patient outcomes post– hospital discharge, Naylor and colleagues4 demonstrated that the use of advanced practice nurses (APNs) was effective in improving outcomes for patients with HF. The feasibility of adapting this approach is limited, however; costs for home visits by an APN are high, a shortage of APNs employed in home care exists, and funding for home care has decreased with the Medicare Prospective Payment System.5 An alternative strategy for promoting self-management of HF is the use of electronic home monitoring (EHM). EHM is a form of telemedicine in which medical/nursing management interventions are provided to individuals at a distance from the health care provider.6 The primary objective of this pilot study was to examine the effectiveness of postdischarge telemonitoring by an APN...
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... 1 Observation of Alzheimer’s Support Group OBSERVATION OF ALZHEIMER’S SUPPORT 2 Observation of Alzheimer’s Support Group On February 7, 2011 I attended the Alzheimer’s support group held at St. Roberts Adult Daycare Center in St. Charles, Missouri. Tina Joyner facilitated this group of nine caregivers and three students. There were two groups conducted simultaneously; one for the caregivers, the other for the individual who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. The groups were held in different rooms in the same building, and were scheduled for a one hour time period. A guest speaker, Grace, from Washington University appeared to invite caregivers to a pilot study being conducted over a one year period which was titled Caregiver Stress Project. The purpose of the study is to measure the effect of stress on the caregiver. I had arrived early and had a chance to speak with “C”, whose wife was unable to attend. He explained that she was in the final stages and had been placed on hospice in August 2010. He told me that a nurse comes weekly, and as needed, but he provides all other care for his wife. They have a daughter who stays with her mother while “C” takes care of errands and demands outside the home. “C” speaks of his wife in a loving way and describes her as being very easy to take care...
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...subject “Care plans for individuals with Alzheimer disease: Intuitively a good idea but hard to prove they are effective in practice.” It is seen that teaching based intervention for Alzheimer care are suggested by large professional organizations although it is not evident on who should undertake these models to the patients. Care plans replicas along with the guidelines usually do have the stated objectives of delaying an illness development and functional beg off (Schneider, 2016). Alzheimer is illustrated by momentous impairments in several cognitive areas, functioning as well as the behavioral burden. Premature revealing, as well as management, can avert overuse of expensive healthcare resources and permit the affected people and caregivers the time to prepare for the prospect financial, medical along with the emotional confronts. This planning proposal offers the right measures concerning the evidence-based intervention to improve outcome in the late stage of Alzheimer disease. Among the cited evidence-based intervention that the business proposes to employ in combating the new stage of the disease do include the use of physical along with intellectual activities and mingling in the running of cognitive decline of aging in patients with Alzheimer. Routine non-pharmacological involvement can have a profound outcome on cognitive aging. The three phases have been cited as being the intellectual simulation, physical exercise as well as social interaction....
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...Raising children can be rewarding but can also be very stressful at times. Deciding how you will raise the child, what school they will attend, how will you discipline, are questions many parents or soon to be parents ask. Adults whether it is the mother or father or the caregiver, are huge influences on a child’s life. Praising children at the right time and because of the right reason is critical. Parents and care givers need to ensure that they are properly praising the child for the right reasons. A good example would be if the child was aked to clean their room and they immediately went into their room and cleaned up all there toys. This would be an excellent example of proper praising. Unfortunately this example is not realistic and can be a frustrating situation. Some parents will bribe the child to do a task and when the child pushes back the parents will then bribe him/her. Some parents praise the child for doing some of the task asked of them. When I was a child my mother would ask me to complete a certain task. After I had completed the task, my mother would praise me for doing a good job. One day, I was asked to do a task that I always do but this time I went above and beyond. When my mother saw the work I had done, she praised me more than she did before. As a child I saw this as an opportunity to ensure I always get praised for my work. What are the advantages and disadvantges of physical punishment? . How can adults help children develop self-esteem...
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...Caregivers are known to present symptoms of depression and the feeling of burden. The Alzheimer’s Association (2014) discusses the public health impact of Alzheimer’s disease, including prevalence and incidence, mortality rates, costs of care, and overall effect on caregivers and society. Their report provides important information on the role of caregivers to people with Alzheimer’s. They inform that most of the caregivers to people with Alzheimer’s are immediate family members, relatives, or friends. The Alzheimer’s Association (2014) established that in the year 2013 unpaid caregivers to patients with Alzheimer’s disease provided over 17.7 billion hours of informal care. They also looked at who is providing care for these individuals and “found that 65% of caregivers are women; 21% were aged 65 years and older; 44% had some college education or had received a degree; 64% were currently employed, a student, or a homemaker; and 71% were married or in a long-term relationship” (Alzheimer’s Association, 2014, p. e64). Although the help provided by family members of people with Alzheimer’s disease is similar to the help provided by caregivers of people with other conditions, dementia caregivers tend to provide more extensive...
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...There are many caregivers who will also handle respite care. Respite care is the term for short-term care that is professional help. The respite caregiver usually will COM to your home and get to meet and greet the family and the patient that they will be tending for. As a respite caregiver, they will learn the everyday house, and where all the treatment or medications are stored. A respite caregiver is offered by local services such a non-profit organization, church, religious groups, or a community organization that wants to give back to others whom are in need. There is also another respite service that is usually specialized and can stay for a few days or as long as several weeks. This can give the caregiver some time to hand things like go on a vacation or have some ‘me’ for themselves. With short term care Medicaid and Medicare may pay you for some of the cost of helping a family member directly in receiving respite care. Caregiving Policy: (2 Pages)...
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...Asthma Caregivers (Parents, families, caregivers) To learn, to be part of the school community, and to have a positive outlook on life at school, it is important for children to attend as many days of school as possible. Parents tend to keep their asthmatic children home from school. However, with proper planning the child could be in the classroom learning and being part of the school community. Family care givers play an important role in helping children and youth with successful asthma control and management at school. * Be sure your child sees a doctor on a regular basis. * Keep asthma medications up to date. * Be certain your child knows how to administer control and emergency medications or who to ask for help when they need it. * Send your child to school healthy! Remove asthma triggers from your home. * Try to keep your home as free as possible of dust, scented items, animal dander, strong cleaning products and other chemicals. * Quit smoking! Even if you smoke outside, smoke remains on your clothing and can be a trigger for asthma. Communicating with Your Child's School Meet with your child’s teacher, the school nurse, and other responsible staff at the start of every school year. Make certain everyone understands your child’s health care needs as discussed with their doctor. * Share the history of your child’s asthma. * Provide contact information for your child’s doctor. * Have your child’s Asthma Action Plan on...
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...Benefits A safe environment with tailored activities and the opportunity to be social with others are only a couple benefits that an adult day care center offers (Adult Day Care Services). Imagine yourself being a full-time caregiver for an elderly adult and not having the capability to run your daily errands or other similar tasks. Adult day care centers offer this much needed break or solo time needed to complete such items on one’s to-do list (About Adult Day Service). One might feel guilty when deciding whether they should leave such elderly persons in the care of another but consider the fact that if you were to run yourself ragged, what help would you be to a person with dementia or in need of constant assistance? A nice break may make one feel recharged and not so helpless when the day’s work has one so exhausted (Adult Day Care). Now consider yourself being the main family income supplier and one might panic at the thought of losing any kind of job stability. Adult day care centers can establish a daily and/or weekly service to help one try to balance the role of caregiving and job duties. Evening and weekend hours, transportation and meals are often provided with varying services included. For those elderly with imparities such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, these adult day care centers offer them a wonderful opportunity to be social and participate in activities such as exercise, art and musically centered programs while in turn promoting their well-being. References ...
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...Veronica Kinsey 9 Commercial St Apt. 3 Gilbertsville, NY 13776|H: 607-783-4040|C: 607-643-3656| VeronicaKins95@gmail.comProfessional Summary | Hardworking professional skilled at compassionate care, charting, and assisting clients with activities of daily living. Highly flexible and willing to work most shifts. Empathetic, patient-focused caregiver with experience in nursing home and group home settings. | Core Qualifications | * CPR/First Aid Certified * SCIP-R Certified * Medication Certified- Oral and G-tube * OPWDD Trained * HIPPA Trained * Computer proficient * Compassionate and driven to care for others * Loyal * Responsible * Reliable * Work well with others * Work well in demanding circumstances | Experience | Direct Support Professional 11/14 to CurrentThe ARC Otsego South New Berlin, NY * Providing patient care for individuals with developmental disabilities in a group home setting. * Bathe, groom, and assist persons in completing activities of daily living. * Accompany residents to medical appointments and bring required documents, or medications. * Administer medications * Assist in meal preparations * Keep home neat and clean interiorly and exteriorly. * Maintain a valid driver’s license to drive agency...
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...the interventions that social workers employ in the service of caregivers of people diagnosed with Serious and Persistent Mental Illnesses. It explores if certain demographics of the caregiver should guide the type of intervention social workers utilize when providing caregiver support. Introduction A. Caregiving. The act of caregiving is not unfamiliar, but the term “caregiving” is relatively new, with the first recorded use of the word in 1966 (Caregiving, 2010). Sixty-five million Americans, which comprise 29% of the United States (U.S.) population, have served as unpaid family caregivers to an adult or a child (Caregiving in the United States, 2009). Caregiving is multi-dimensional. For example, family caregiving,...
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