Homecare Caregiver Duties

Hi there and welcome to our career training series. I’m Ruby and I’m one of the recruiters here at myCNAjobs.

Today’s training session is to help those exploring a career as a home care caregiver to better understand what a caregiver is, a day in the life of a caregiver, and typical caregiver job duties. There’s never been a better time to explore a career in home care. This is one of the fastest growing professions in America. Our Baby Boomers are aging and more seniors want to age in their home. This means they need caregivers to help care for them. If you have a caring heart and like caring for other people, being a caregiver can be a very rewarding career to earn a living AND make a difference in the world.

So, let’s dive in.  Today we’re going to talk about:

1. What a home care caregiver is
2. What caregivers do
3. How much caregivers make
4. How to become a caregiver
5. How to find a caregiver job

#1 - What is a home care caregiver?
A caregiver that works in a home care setting helps seniors age in place and provide comfort to those that need care.  Caregivers may work under the supervision of a RN or LPN to provide care according to a patient’s care plan.  People that have a love for caring for others, have experience baby sitting, or caring for friends and family tend to make great caregivers. If this is you, keep watching!

#2 - Where do home care caregivers work?
Homecare caregivers work directly in the home of someone needing care. Many caregivers work directly for a homecare agency.  The agency helps connect caregivers to people in the local community that need care, manages payroll, scheduling, and overall career development path for a caregiver. Many agencies have job openings for caregivers without any experience as they are willing to train the right people on-the-job. If you want to explore local home care agencies in your area, visit myCNAjobs.com and click on JOBS. You can enter your zip code and search agencies closest to you to get an idea of the opportunities closest to you.

#3 - What do home care caregivers do?
Home care caregivers provide one-on-one care to a senior, disabled, or other types of individuals that need short or long term care in their home. Sometimes a patient will just have one caregiver and sometimes a patient may have a few caregivers if they require around the clock care. Here are a few caregiver duties.

1. Help people with BLS - that means basic living activities.   These are things like getting around the house, eating a meal, brushing teeth, going to the bathroom, bathing, combing hair, and staying active. One of the most fun parts of a home care job is getting to know your clients -- hearing their stories, taking them to bingo, and joining them in the world for fun activities!
2. Document your care.  Depending on the patient you’re working with, you may or may not have a care plan. If you do have a care plan, this will be your guide of what you should do on any given day with your patient. All caregivers typically report on any health condition changes to let your company or the patient’s family know what happened that day.
3. Maintain a tidy environment. An important part of a home care job is helping your patients maintain a tidy living space. It’s helpful to the patient and their loved ones if you can help with common chores like making beds, sweeping the floor, and cleaning out the fridge. It’s tough for those that are old and sick to do these things so often it’s part of how a caregiver can help provide great care for their patient.
4. Help your clients get around. Some patients need help getting in and out of a wheelchair, to be taken to the salon to get their hair done, or driven to a doctor’s appointment. Caregivers helps their patients get to where they need to go. Sometimes this means that caregivers drive a client in their own care, sometimes in a client’s care, and sometimes it may mean accompanying them in a rideshare program like uber. The amount and type of transportation you will do will depend on your specific clients.

#5 - How much do caregivers make?
Pay for home care caregiver jobs varies based on your experience, where you live, and where you work.   Typically, pay ranges from $9 per hour to $17 per hour.  Some companies offer live-in caregiver jobs that allow you to work a few days and earn a full salary.  For live-in jobs, we see companies paying $1,000 - $1,300 per week.  If you want to learn more about what companies are paying in your area, search jobs at myCNAjobs.com. You can enter your zip code and then see specific companies and pay rates. Our prediction is that caregiver wages will start to increase even more as the demand for certified nursing assistants increases. Also, if you decide to get your CNA license, you typically earn a couple of dollars more per hour.

#4 - How do you become a home caregiver?
To get started, you need to connect with local home care agencies. Each agency is unique and will have different requirements. If you don’t have experience, most agencies provide on-the-job training to help you learn basic skills. We’ve also seen agencies create job shadow programs to allow you to get familiar with what the job is and how you can become excellent at it. Additionally, you can take free caregiver courses online at myCNAjobs.com. After you complete the course, you’ll get a certificate to print to bring to an employer to show them all of the new skills you’re learning.

#5 - How do you find a caregiver job?
This one is easy. Look online and get out in your community! Chances are good that there are at least a dozen agencies in your backyard. We have a directory you can use at myCNAjobs as well.  Visit myCNAjobs.com to search companies by zip code.  You can also just call our recruitment team and ask -- we can share more about current openings in your area and potentially book you for an interview!   Our recruitment number is 312-275-3959.

Well, that’s it folks. If you like what you saw here today, there are more training videos and free resources available at myCNAjobs.com or call us to talk to a recruiter directly at 312-275-3959.