How To Screen Potential Caregivers More Extensively

If you’re considering hiring a caregiver for your sick or elderly loved one, it’s important to go through the process as extensively as possible. Because caregivers are in high demand, you’re sure to come across quite a lot of potential hires. Like any other professional, however, caregivers aren’t all the same. Some are better than others, so you’ll want to be with the best.

Remember that caregivers have a very important role to play. Moreover, paying their salaries can be expensive. The last thing you’d want is to hire and pay for the fees of a caregiver who's less-than-qualified to do their job.

In this guide, you’ll come across a run-down on how to screen potential caregivers more extensively.

Make Use Of Technology

Topping this list is an asset that’s transforming even the healthcare industry. Technology is an advantage today, and it’s on you to make the most out of it.

For starters, there are apps and online platforms that’ll give you insights and tips on screening potential caregivers. Moreover, once your caregiver is hired, you can improve communication with each other through those online platforms.

At https://waywiser.life and other similar channels:

• Exchange private messages, and share photos and videos, especially if you live far from your family members
• Post daily caregiving updates
• Track care routines and medications

Post A Clear Job Description

Caregivers provide quite a specific job function to their patient clients. But, this doesn’t mean that you can be vague with your job description. Because your goal is to be more extensive with screening potential applicants, you should provide a very clear description of what their job functions would be. Ideally, this depends on the need of the patient and the specific reasons behind why you’re hiring the caregiver in the first place.

For example, there are some families who hire in-home caregivers for purposes like giving and dispensing medications to their sick family members, as well as helping with chores and cooking. But, washing and bathing aren’t part of their job, as the elderly can still do such tasks by themselves. For other households, however, the job demands can be different.

The more specific you are with your job description, the higher the chances that you’ll be able to hire the caregiver that’s the perfect match for the patient.

Ask About Their Field Of Specialization

Most caregivers, are equipped to handle all sorts of functions a caregiver is called to do. But, there are also those who’ve taken extra time and effort to specialize in certain fields.

For instance, some caregivers work for geriatric care, or those with the elderly. On the other hand, some caregivers also specialize in pediatric patients.

To screen more extensively, it pays to ask about the field of specializations, depending on what your patient’s needs are. If you’re looking for a caregiver to help you with your newborn, then it’s a major plus to hire the one with specialization in pediatric care.

Ask A LOT Of Questions

This tip can’t be emphasized enough. Screening extensively also means asking a lot of questions. Don’t rush this step. The more questions you ask, the more you’ll be able to get to know about the potential caregiver you’re hiring.

Asking questions gives you more leeway not to immediately rule out those with very little professional experience. Rather, it allows you to learn more about the caregiver, so you can also have a bird’s eye view of their personality, traits, and quality.

Some of the questions you can ask include:

• Have you had any experience caring for a patient with a particular illness or disability (e.g. dementia, physical disabilities, children with special needs, Parkinson’s)?
• What did you like–and not like–about caring for that particular patient?
• What was your care plan of action?
• What other patients' disabilities or health issues have you cared for?
• Are you an extrovert or an introvert? (You know your patient best, so you can determine whether or not your patient works well with a quiet or a talkative caregiver).

Check The References

Even if you already seem highly confident about a specific caregiver through your interview session, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take the extra step of going through character references. This refers to the past families of patients they’ve cared for. They're often the best individuals for you to ask insights from, whether or not they’ve been pleased with the caregiver’s services.

Checking through the references also gives you an opportunity to cross-check whether or not the things the caregiver said during the interview are factual, or if they’re simply overselling themselves.

Conclusion

Hiring a caregiver isn’t a strange thing to come by nowadays. Many families now ultimately choose to hire caregivers, each with their individual concerns. When you spend for one, naturally, the expectation is that the caregiver can be your best help to address your specific concerns. Because there are many agencies that offer caregivers to hire, it’s important to know how to narrow down your options. This entails being more extensive with the screening process, through strategies like those just discussed.