Definitions
Burnout
What is:
experiencing acute mental and physical fatigue. Symptoms are often similar to depression and anxiety
Public place you can go for free computers/internet access
What is:
The library
The person you're caring for full time whenever you're not working, has started to call you whenver you're at work asking the same questions and forgetting your answers a few minutes later. How do you deal with this?
Possible solutions:
Write them a note to leave at home with them so they know where you are and when you will be back. Have a nearby friend/neighbor check on them throughout the day. Hire a respite caretaker
Your patient is perscribed a new medication
Ask the doctor:
How do they take this? What are the side effects? Can I repeat back to you what you just told me to make sure I understand?
Resources to help with financial strain related to caregiving.
What is:
Caregiving resource center and Assisted Living
https://www.caring.com/caregivers/ https://www.assistedliving.org/financial-resources-for-seniors-inflation
Caregiver
What is:
Anyone who provides longterm care, helping them with ADLs (activities of daily living).Website that helps you find help in your community based on your state and zip code.
The person you're caring for lives alone and has taken a fall. They need surgery and will likely never be able to move back into their house alone. How do you deal with this?
Possible solutions:
Live in healthcare worker, elderly living communities, move in with you or another family member...
Your patient has just been told they will no longer be able to walk on their own
Ask the Doctors:
Does this mean they will no longer be able to live on their own? How can we get a wheelchair? What other devices might be helpful for them to have? Do they still have ways of exercising?
Money related things that elderly patients might need help with as they age.
What is:
paying bills, avoiding fraud, avoiding overly risky investments that they would not make in their right mind...
ADLs
What is:
Activities of Daily Living, cooking, cleaning, going to the bathroom, changing
Website that has many different resources and teaches about self care as a caregiver
What is:
Family Caregiver Alliance
https://www.caregiver.org/resource/taking-care-you-self-care-family-caregivers/
The person family member who usually helps you take care of your patient is sick and not able to do things such as drive them to their regular doctor's appointment. You are very busy at work and would like to avoid taking time off to bring them to their appointment. How do you deal with this?
Possible answers:
Consider asking anyone else within your network of family and friends for help, a service such as uber might work depending on the patient's level of funcitonality, explain the situation to your boss and advocate for your needs...
The doctor tells you your patient will likely need full time care within the next couple of months.
Ask the doctor:
Does that mean that they have to be watched 24/7? Can they still do activities they enjoy such as going on walks, gardening etc.? What options do I have for help?
Power of Attorney
What is:
A person given the ability to make financial and medical decisions for another living person
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-a-power-of-attorney-poa-en-1149/
Respite Care
What is:
A person or facility that allows you (the primary caregiver) to take a break from some of your duties. This can be in the form of an in home visit, a place that the patient goes every week or even lives at with 24/7 care.
Service that provides Ohio Medicair beneficiaries with free, objective, health insurance information and one-on-one counseling
What is:
Ohio Senior Health Insurance Information Program (OSHIIP)
You are feeling overwhelmed by having a full time job, caring for your own kids, and now the additional responsibilities of taking care of your elderly relative. You don't feel like you have any time for yourself or do anything just for fun anymore. How do you deal with this?
Possible answers:
See if a friend or family member can take over for one night to let you go to a concert, have a date night, do something you used to always make time for. Take ten minutes to dance in your room alone to your favorite songs or journal. Communicate how you're feeling to your loved ones.
Your patient needs hip surgery.
Ask the Doctors:
How long is the recovery? What kind of side effects should we look out for after the surgery? How long will the surgery take? How often have you performed this surgery? What does this mean for their life going forward?
What is something that you have done in the past or a new resource you want to utilize to help support you financially as a caregiver?
Possible answers:
Medicaid programs, community of family and friends...
Dementia
What is:
A brain disease that causes loss of memory and sometimes personality changes
Any resources that a fellow classmate has told you about or you have found on your own through the tools given in this course.
Possible answers:
The number of another classmate, a book they read, a new website they've learned from...
Identify a problem you face as a caregiver and how you might address it.
What is:
Possible answers include something such as needing transportation to accomodate a wheelchair user and asking a nearby friend or family member with a van to help.
What is a question you wish you had asked a doctor in the past or what is something you have been confused about and want to advocate for yourself to be able to understand?
Possible answers:
I wish I had been able to take/give medications correctly. I want to make sure I don't leave the doctor's office without understanding the implications of a diagnosis.
Medicaid program that give friends and family the oppertunity to get paid to be a caretaker.