What Makes a Great Carer?

Considering a career in care and want to know if you’d be a good fit? Here, we outline the key qualities that make a great carer.

Considering a career in care and want to know if you’d be a good fit? Here, we outline six key qualities that make a great carer.

What are the qualities of a good carer?

1. Empathetic and kind

Arguably the most important quality that make a great carer is the ability to see things from customer’s perspective – and to be kind when dealing with a customer’s day to day difficulties. All of our customers have good days and bad days, but having that caring bone in your body means being able to identify with their struggles, imagine yourself in their shoes, and having the willingness to help them, in a way that makes them feel better about the situation.

2. Great communicator

Of course, having empathy and kindness are fantastic, but making full use of them as a carer means being able to communicate with a customer in order to help them as effectively as possible. That might mean sitting down for a tea and a chat, but it could also mean talking them through how you’re going to hoist them out of bed so they feel prepared, or encouraging them to get out of the house with you and go for a walk in the local park, which is often great for their health. Whatever the situation, communication is one of those all-important qualities that make a great carer.

3. Naturally patient

Showing empathy through great communication is a wonderful thing – and if you’re a naturally kind person, it can come naturally at first. However, doing so for an entire customer visit, when they might not be in the best of spirits and proving difficult to get along with, can take a level of patience beyond a lot of people. Care workers certainly aren’t saints, but through a combination of natural kindness, good training, a high level of professionalism, and a deep desire to do their best for their customer, our Bluebirds consistently show a level of patience that our customers and their families are thankful for.

4. Playful!

For all of the seriousness that comes with caring for people, one of the more unexpected qualities that make a great carer is a real silly side. Knowing how to have fun with customers and other carers adds levity that can take the edge off, and it often plays a crucial part in connecting to customers and forming a friendship with them. If you work in care, you care, and that’s not just about the practical side – it’s about uplifting someone’s spirit by telling jokes, laughing, playing games, and encouraging them to see them best in their situation.

5. Observant

Caring for people isn’t like taking an office job. There’s really no such thing as a typical day – especially when the people you look after have serious health conditions. That’s why one important quality that makes a great carer is the ability to pick up on small cues from a customer’s words, movements or general demeanour that tells you something could be the matter. It might be that they repeat themselves (indicating memory problems often associated with dementia), are moving gingerly (indicating an injury or perhaps missed medication), or seem withdrawn (indicating early signs of anxiety or depression). With time, experience, and by building a bond with customers, this skill only grows, until you can notice things that other people wouldn’t, and adapt your behaviour to give them the very best care possible.

6. Trustworthy and reliable

The last characteristic in our list of what makes a great carer is one we’ve put at the end because, in a way, it underpins the other five. After all, someone can be kind, patient, playful, observant and communicate it all well – but it’s those rare gems who are consistently reliable with it all that make the most amazing carers.

It has to be said, that’s not always easy to do. Caring can be a challenging vocation at times – and because carers care so much, the difficult days can stay with you for a while. At the same time, though, so do the good ones, where you can see the difference you’ve made and feel the gratitude form your customers and their families. Ultimately, it’s those days, that inspire our care workers to deliver that high level of quality care, day in and day out.

Thinking about becoming a carer?

Hopefully, with this post we’ve answered the all-important question “what are the qualities of a great carer?” So if you’ve read this far and think it sounds like you – we’d love to hear from you!

Visit our Gosport carer jobs page to see our current open carer roles, or get in touch with us to learn more about why becoming a Buebird could be the life-changing career move you’ve been looking for.

Want to learn more about life as a carer? Check out the blogs below!

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