Being a caregiver for someone severely ill can be a difficult and time-consuming work. For the new caregiver, taking on this new responsibility in an already hectic schedule can be overwhelming. This article provides some organizational strategies that will reduce time and effort required to complete the tasks required and help to ease your anxiety at the same time.
Communication
During my caregiving experience, I discovered that communication with family and friends to update information was a daunting task. The same info several times is time-consuming. If you want to share information with an even larger, but more interested group of people, consider creating a blog or e-mail to send out updates one time rather than multiple times. Responses to blog comments or e-mail messages can be made at a time that is convenient to the caregiver instead of each time a phone rings. Controlling the need for communications reduces anxiety and stress caused by many interruptions in your day. I found that using a blog to facilitate communication has also helped to reduce the problems that arise from misinterpreting information at it passes between people. E-mails or blogs serve to be your "single source" of truth.
Medical History
A patient who is seriously ill often requires numerous appointments with specialists, doctors and hospitals. The most frequent and frequently asked questions from health professionals was about medications that the patient takes. Secondary in frequency were questions about other health care providers such as insurance prescriptions, surgeries, pharmacy visits and allergies. The recording of this information into a single location, either manually or electronically, ensures that you have all the information readily available in case of need. When maintained, this helps to reduce medical errors. The task of recollecting information in the hospital or in an emergency is difficult and often results in the omission of critical information or sharing the wrong information. The other benefit is reduced stress level on the caretaker.
Medication List
A patient who is seriously ill often requires multiple medication. If you track all medications in one place together with a schedule for dosing, it helps to prevent medication errors. It also allows you to take on the responsibility of distributing medication to others as needed, giving you the freedom to delegate that burden and take on other tasks. If the list is maintained the list of medications provides an easy way to recall the information required by health professionals and emergency services.
Medicine Information
If you are taking multiple medications, the potential of side effects is significantly increased. Pharmacies will provide information on medicines when dispensing medications. The information on medicine is also available via the Internet. The fact that you can keep all the information about medicines in one place allows you to locate quickly the information you need, if you suspect the one you care for has issues with their medications. If you suffer from a serious illness you find that a variety of doctors are prescribing medication. The list can help keep your doctors up-to-date to help avoid issues before they occur. If an adverse reaction occurs, doctors usually are able to find other options for treatment.
Calendar
The person who is seriously ill often requires a number of health appointments. I recommend using a calendar to keep track of each appointment. It doesn't matter whether you use a paper or electronic version. A calendar that is available reduces the issues of planning too much on one day or creating overlaps in appointments.
None of the tips I share are revolutionary, however each of these small organization tips adds to the end result over time. Our minds are powerful, but often overwhelmed when we try to tackle too many subjects simultaneously or attempt to remember too Companion many things. Freeing the mind from the details lets you focus on the truly important issues or other tasks. Eliminating the mind from the details also serves to reduce the stress you feel when carrying the responsibility of caring for your loved one.
Suddenly a Caregiver
A family's experiences as well as lessons learnt to guide you deal with the unanticipated task of being a caregiver for your family.