How to Help With Patient Care

Most people will find themselves in the role of a caregiver at some point in their life. Helping with patient care can be as simple as assisting a friend or family member with a short hospital stay, or as complex as providing long-term care of an infirmed individual in his or her own home. The primary tasks of an individual who wants to know how to help with patient care is to be informed, to learn to consult with and take direction from licensed health care providers and to follow rigorous protocols with regard to maintaining a sterile environment, administering medications and therapies and respecting patient confidentiality.

Instructions

• 1

  Consult with the primary licensed caregiver as to the specific role you can play with regard to patient care. The role a patient caregiver plays is directly related to the condition of the individual being cared for. For example, the care level a nonmedically trained individual can give to a patient with a highly contagious viral infection is far less than the care that might be provided to an individual healing from a broken bone or recovering from routine surgery.

• 2

  Educate yourself about routine care giving protocols, such as hand washing, the use of sterile gloves and/or masks, recognizing and documenting basic vital signs, giving bed baths, assisting with bedpan use, safely moving patients, etc.

• 3

  Educate yourself about the particular illness or condition of the individual in your care, such as the specifics of the condition, the treatments or therapies being performed, food and water restrictions and common reactions and side effects of medications.

• 4

  Make the patient comfortable in as many nonmedical ways as possible. This may include providing familiar and comfortable clothing, bedding, items from home or favorite movies, music or books.

• 5

  Serve as a gatekeeper. Ask the patient if he or she wishes to receive visitors or phone calls and monitor the time spent with each to ensure the patient does not become overtired or overwhelmed.

• 6

  Keep a medication schedule. Even if a primary caregiver is dispensing medications, keeping an eye on time will help you remind the physician or nurse when it is dosing time. This can save the patient any unnecessary pain or discomfort in the event his or her medicine is delayed.

• 7

  Provide comfort foods, if medically allowable.

• 8

  Provide emotional and physical support in the form of prayer, hand holding, foot massages or singing.

• 9

  Assist with daily tasks that may be difficult, such as responding to mail or email, running errands, paying bills, refilling or picking up prescriptions, or helping with routine housework such as cooking, or pet or childcare.

• 10

  Help with walking, lifting and bathing.

• 11

  Help with deciphering medical jargon and filling out insurance paperwork.