CARING FOR THE PROFESSIONAL
CARE GIVER
Professional care givers are human too - with the full range
of emotions available to each and every one of us; they may feel
a sense of failure, feel obliged to rescue, to defend their profession,
feel powerless, depressed, angry, burnt- out, become ill and partake
of avoidance behaviour…..
If these emotions are not recognized, explored and unfolded,
team performance and patient care will suffer and patients may
experience poor quality care, with poor care goals, lack of clarity
of decision making, inappropriate use of technologies and lack
of engagement with family and other support structures.
This can have the result of increased medical complications and
longer stays in institutions.
The care giver
It is not unusual for a doctor or care giver to become
“attached” to and identify with a patient because
the patient and care giver have similar profiles or backgrounds.
The care giver may have experienced recent loss or trauma and
feel that they were inadequate even to “save their own”.
The care giver may suffer from a psychiatric illness or misuse
addictive substances such as alcohol and drugs.
….and they may be unable to deal with their own fear of
death and disability.
In the care situation there may be many stress
factors….
The patient or their family may be angry at facing loss.
The patient might be a medical professional or have higher professional
or social rank than the care giver.
The family dynamics may be so troublesome that the carer feels
they cannot wade through them to really “reach” the
patient.
The facilities in the care situation may be poor and staff may
be hostile to care givers or they may be so high powered that
the care giver feels intimidated.
How can I spot my own stress levels as a carer?
