Why You Need To Get Caregiver Certified

Sometimes in life we tell ourselves that we’ll be “alright” without this or that. While this may be true of some things, you should not take on this approach when it comes to being a caregiver. How ever you fell into the field of caregiving you need to be certified if you are going to continue to provide non-medical services of any type. If you opt not to get certified you leave yourself open to scrutiny by those who may question the services that you are providing as a caregiver.

Even if you are providing caregiver services for a family member such as an elderly mom or dad, you should be certified. There are many reasons for this, such as the aforementioned. But, there is another good reason. For example, your mom or dad’s insurance company may require it. More often than not, the insurance company will ask you if you have certification, and will want you to provide proof of your caregiver certification. This is especially true if you are looking to be compensated for taking care of mom or dad. However, beyond an insurance requirement, there is the most important reason of all.

Knowledge acquisition.

Yes, you need a certain degree of knowledge to be a caregiver in order to provide top-notch care. For example, the tools of communication and assisting mom or dad with their daily activities such as bathing, walking and more simple tasks such as assistance with getting dressed, or getting up from the table. All of these skills require a certain degree of knowledge on behalf of the person providing the care. But, ‘how’ we go about helping mom or dad with these activities, as we refer to them in caregiver land, is another matter when we start talking about doing things the ‘right way.’

For instance, something as simple as knowing that you should warm up the bathroom before helping mom or dad into the shower seems trivial, but is is actually one small way that you provide good care. It’s important to mom or dad, so it should be to you. Strangely enough though, we often don’t think of doing this, but with caregiver training and certification we are more likely to be prompted to warm up the bathroom prior to assisting with showering.

You see, it’s always about knowledge, and applying that knowledge to facilitate a higher level of care for anyone that you are caring for. It’s the small things, the big things and everything in between. Talk to your clients, your residents and your loved ones about what they want and do your best to meets their needs. But, first start with a foundation of basic knowledge to get you headed in the right direction, and this means getting that caregiver certification. You can do that here.