We have a very challenging job. Caring for another person is both a challenging and extremely rewarding experience. There can be no greater joy than seeing someone achieve their goals from your Interventions.
The stress of the job
Often we have multiple stresses to deal with in our industry while trying to care for our residents. We have to abide by Medicare guidelines, follow any new protocols from the state or the CDC, and to be a good steward of our time to make sure we are utilizing our time appropriately to stay within our budget.
All these aspects can have varied degrees of challenges on a day to day basis. Some days it can make it stressful, while other times it can just be a slight annoyance.
No one is ready type of day
We have all had those days where it feels like you start the day behind the 8 ball. You walk room to room and get frustrated that no one is ready and out of bed. Often it can be more of a challenge in Physical therapy than for Occupaional Therapy or Speach therapy. At least for Occupaional Therapy there is always the option of doing ADLs with a person and get them ready. As for Speach they can always work on cognition if that’s their goal while they are lying in bed.
Unfortunately from an Occupaional Therapy perspective sometimes it seems the staff will get too reliant on them doing ADLS and just assume that they don’t need to get them ready. This is frequently true for some residents that can be more on the challenging side. OT can’t just do ADLs with someone every single day.
The “I don’t feel good day”
These can be really frustrating when it seems multiple residents have the “I don’t feel good” bug. These are very frustrating when you are dealing with short term rehab residents.
Most of what we do is functional in nature. This can be especially true on some days when we focus only on ambulation and transfers. Last time I checked, when you are home sick you still get out of bed to get something from the kitchen or go to the bathroom. It’s just not a good excuse.
It’s a bathroom type of day
We all have these types of days. It seems we have the magic touch to make someone have to go to the bathroom. These can be the most frustrating. What a good chance to work on transfers but depending on the need of the resident might turn into a bunch of split treatments. Can’t exactly just sit around waiting for natural buisness to happen.
These simple stresses can over time build up on a therapist.
Caregivers of all types need to remember to take the time to care for themselves. The daily stress of being a caregiver can steadily build up and before we realize it starts to affect our well-being. It can start to diminish our mental health as well as our physical health.
A need for the proper tools
We need to be proactive in establishing tools to help us to care for ourselves. We need to establish some healthy practices and habits to strengthen our resolve. These can be things such as focused meditation, yoga, or regular physical exercise to help our minds and bodies.
We also need to schedule true time off to unplug and refresh our batteries. If we don’t actively learn to care for ourselves we will quickly burn out and no longer be the caregiver we are capable of. So please take the time to care for yourself. You will be a better caregiver for it.
