What to Expect as a Professional Caregiver
There are many reasons people choose a career as a professional caregiver. It provides flexibility and autonomy as you work with clients, but it also requires days of hard work and dedication. Understanding what to expect as a professional caregiver is essential before you begin pursuing your new potential career.
Hard Yet Rewarding Work
Caregiving is a genuinely rewarding work experience. Every day, you’re helping someone live a dignified and quality life. You’re assisting clients to feel safe and comfortable in their homes. You’re allowing them to remain independent and feel powerful as they age. It’s because of the work of caregivers that so many seniors can embrace their golden years.
But as rewarding as professional caregiving is, it’s also hard work. There may be days when you spend a lot of time on your feet, and your body aches after your shift. Sometimes, you struggle with something in your personal life, but you must compartmentalize and focus on your client. There will also be days when your client doesn’t want help and resists your assistance.
Ultimately, caregiving is a job, and things won’t run perfectly every day. But unlike many other jobs, the pros outweigh the cons, and the accomplishment you’ll feel after helping a client makes up for the hard work you’re putting into each day.
Autonomy
When you start your caregiving career, you’ll undergo training and mentorship until you're comfortable with your new role. But once you take on your first client, you won’t have someone supervising your moves. You’ll have autonomy over your position, which allows you to work independently with your clients but also means you must be disciplined and remain dependable. It’s up to you to stay organized and manage your time efficiently to ensure clients receive the highest quality of care.
Having autonomy in your work doesn’t mean you won’t have a team to support you. At Visiting Angels, there’s always someone available at the home office to answer questions and provide support when needed. We also have an excellent network of caregivers who happily offer advice or guidance to new team members navigating challenging situations.
Meaningful Relationships
The relationships you build with your clients as a professional caregiver are among the most rewarding aspects of the job. Many caregivers with Visiting Angels mention that working with clients doesn’t feel like work. It feels like spending the afternoon with a friend.
Part of the reason Visiting Angels builds meaningful relationships with clients is that we take time to match caregivers and clients. When we match caregivers and seniors, we look at more than corresponding schedules. We consider personality and interest to help set the foundation for a genuine connection. The stronger the relationship between caregiver and clients, the easier it is to build trust, and the better the quality of care.
Ready To Start A Professional Caregiving Career?
Visiting Angels Prescott is the perfect place to start your professional caregiving career. As a locally owned and operated home care agency, you’ll feel confident knowing you are with a company dedicated to the well-being of seniors throughout our community.
As a caregiver with Visiting Angels, you’ll enjoy competitive pay, reimbursable mileage, paid training and time off, bonus opportunities, and plenty of client interaction. We will also work with you to create a flexible part-time or full-time schedule so you can enjoy the work/life balance you deserve.
Contact our Prescott office with any questions, or apply online if you’re ready to start your caregiving career.