In healthcare, some must provide care for patients confined to their homes. These people are known as Home Health Aides (HHA).
A home health aide is meant to assist the patient in their personal needs and provide basic personal care. This is a crucial and demanding line of work, as you have responsibility for a patient’s health. For this reason, all home health aides are trained. However, a home health aide’s qualifications extend beyond that.
In this article, we list down the characteristics that any home health aide must have. Read on below to learn more.
#1 – Patient
This is an essential characteristic that a home health aide must have. There will be times when your patient will be very uncooperative and will even oppose what you are trying to accomplish. For instance, they may reject your help when trying to go to the bathroom. This can be very difficult to handle since you need to find a way to be patient with them.
A home health aide must also be patient with the patient’s family members. There may be times when they will get annoyed with you because of their demanding nature. If you still keep a calm head in these situations, you can gain trust from the patient and the family members.
#2 – Good Communicator
There are times when your patients will not talk or even express themselves. One of your responsibilities is to listen to their needs and understand what they are trying to convey.
It will also be essential to communicate with your patient’s family members. They too may want to know about their loved one, and you will be the one to relay this information to them.
#3 – Empathic
You’re bound to encounter situations that will bring you to tears. In this line of work, you must have the ability to be empathic to the patient’s situation. Sometimes, you may encounter patients with serious illnesses that may eventually lead to death.
There will be times when the patient will be experiencing a lot of pain, and you will be the only one there to help them. It will be very emotional for you, but you must stay calm and move on because it will happen to everybody.
#4 – Perceptive
There will be times when the patient will say or do things that you will find strange or weird. You must be perceptive enough to notice these things and translate them to the family members. These things may be hard to explain, but you should identify them.
#5 – Flexible
There will always be unexpected changes in the patient’s schedule. It may be the patient’s condition, family members’ schedules, and even sudden emergencies. You must be flexible enough to handle these changes with ease.
These unexpected changes are going to happen in your daily schedule. You might not finish all your tasks on time, but you should be able to push through them and finish what’s important.
#6 – Compassionate
You need to be compassionate to help your patient. You must be aware of their illnesses and what they need help with. For instance, some might need help going to the bathroom, feeding themselves, taking their medicine, etc.
Having compassion for your patient will also help your performance as a home health aide. You will be able to understand their needs better and provide a better service.
Conclusion
If you apply these 6 characteristics in your work in the home health care industry, you can be sure that you will become a good home health aide. These characteristics will help you deal with your patient and their family members.
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