What is Professional Caregiving?

Have you been curious about professional caregiving and whether you should consider trying it as your next career move? Understanding the role of a professional caregiver, plus the skills and qualities that make caregivers successful, can help you narrow down whether professional caregiving is for you. 

At-Home Caregiving with Visiting Angels

A professional caregiver is a trained individual who provides care to another person. Visiting Angels offers at-home care services, where a professional caregiver works with clients at their homes to ensure their safety and comfort. 

Caregivers provide nonmedical assistance. The assistance required from each client varies but may include light housekeeping, meal preparation, medication reminders, or transportation. Clients who need hands-on assistance may also request help with walking, dressing, bathing, grooming, showering, and toileting.

Visiting Angels also offers specialized care services for clients living with unique situations. We provide dementia care for clients with dementia, transitional care for seniors coming home after a hospital stay, and end-of-life care for clients who may require physical, emotional, or spiritual support as they enter the final stages of life. 

Professional caregiving is not nursing. 

Some people are nervous about getting into caregiving because they think it’s a type of nursing position, and they’re worried they don’t have the technical skills for success. Caregivers are not nurses. Caregivers with Visiting Angels don’t provide any medical services. Medical services include medication administration, changing bandages, or dressing wounds. Once hired, you’ll learn all the technical skills required for caregiving through training and mentorship. 

Skills and Qualities of a Professional Caregiver

The ability to perform household tasks is only part of what makes a successful caregiver. Compassion, empathy, and good communication skills while remaining accountable and dependable are also essential skills and qualities of a professional caregiver. 

• Compassion: Showing compassion and kindness toward clients allows you to connect and build trust and respect between each other. 
• Empathy: Having empathy allows you to think about situations through your client’s perspective so you can understand what they’re going through. 
• Accountability: You should be accountable for your actions and for providing the highest quality of care. 
• Communication: You need strong communication skills to connect with your client and coworkers effectively. 
• Dependability: Clients depend on their caregivers to live at home safely, and you don’t want to give clients a reason to feel like they can’t rely on you. 

Working with Visiting Angels 

Visiting Angels Flagstaff would love to connect if you possess the skills and qualities of a professional caregiver and are interested in starting your career. We’re hiring full-time and part-time positions to work with seniors throughout Flagstaff, Payson, ShowLow, and the surrounding communities. Keeping our clients local means caregivers have short commutes working with nearby seniors. 

We know we wouldn’t be anywhere without our caregivers, so we’re dedicated to providing competitive pay, flexible scheduling, paid training, bonus opportunities, reimbursable mileage, and more. If you’re ready to see what caregiving is all about, send us your application or call us at 928-220-4100 with any questions.