Qualities of a Professional Caregiver

QUALITY	WHAT IT IS	HOW YOU DISPLAY IT
EMPATHY	When you empathize, you understand the client’s situation as if it were your own but you don’t get bogged down by the pain. In fact, you may not even agree with their feelings, but you understand them.	You take an active role when communicating your empathy. For example: “I’m here with you. We’ll work through this together!”
COMPASSION	With compassion, you build on your empathy by acting on your desire to lessen someone’s pain or unhappiness.	To show compassion, you put clients’ needs before your own. You listen when people confide in you. And, you accept people for who they are—faults and all!
LISTENING	Listening is more than hearing what is being said. It involves really understanding what the other person is telling you.	You listen more than you talk. You make eye contact. You don’t interrupt. And you focus on what the other person is saying.
PATIENCE	Patience is the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.	You demonstrate patience when you respond to delays by taking a deep breath, laughing about the situation or by counting to 10!
POSITIVITY	An attitude is a mental inclination that develops based on the beliefs, values and assumptions that we hold. When your attitude is positive, you tend to view life with an optimistic, hopeful state of mind.	You thank your clients for allowing you to care for them. You give out compliments to clients and co-workers. You smile a lot and look for ways to bring joy to everyone at work.
DEDICATION	Being dedicated on the job means that you give your full support to your workplace, including the administration, your co-workers and your clients.	You come to work on time, finish all your duties, let others know you are a team player and look for challenges that help you grow in your profession.
QUALITY	WHAT IT IS	HOW YOU DISPLAY IT
SELF-CONFIDENCE	You are self-confident when you believe in yourself and your abilities. This confidence comes from inside you and is based on past experiences—including both past successes and failures.	You show your confidence by being happy to try new things and not worrying about what people think of you. You focus on successes and see mistakes as learning experiences. And, you face your fears!
SENSE OF HUMOR	A sense of humor is vital for those of us who work in health care. It means we have the ability to take our jobs seriously...but not ourselves!	You smile, seek out people who laugh regularly and help clients find things to laugh about every day. You know that laughter provides relaxation and stress relief while boosting the immune system!
OPEN-MINDEDNESS	You are open-minded when you are able to work with people from all cultures, races, religions and beliefs.	You learn all you can about the differences between people and accept those differences, even if you disagree with them.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

As you go through your daily work, try to “step back” and look at yourself. As a caregiver, you probably:

Connect with clients and co-workers on an emotional level.
Take action to relieve the suffering of others.
Listen intently to people when they speak to you.
Keep your cool even when clients or co-workers test your patience.
Share your smile and positive attitude with both clients and co-workers.
Demonstrate how dedicated you are to your job.
Stay confident in your ability to perform your job.
Keep your sense of humor, especially when things get tough at work.
Accept and support the many different people and personalities with whom you work.

If you come up short in any area, take the time to practice your skills for that particular caring quality.