What is the daily care of the elderly?

The essence is to provide comprehensive life support and health management and care services around the physical, psychological and social adaptation needs of the elderly. It is far from the "nanny job of feeding and cleaning the body" in the popular stereotype. I have worked as a front-line nurse in a community nursing home in the main urban area for 6 years. I have encountered various situations from energetic elderly people to disabled and dementia elderly people, and I have a very real feeling about this issue.

The outside world's perception of this job has always been divided between two sides. Some people think it is a hard-working housekeeping job, just complete the tasks of feeding and cleaning on time, while others think it is an extension of medical services and you must have professional qualifications to work. Both views are correct, but the scene where you stand is different.

Previously, we took care of Aunt Zhang, an 82-year-old patient with Alzheimer's disease. The housekeeping aunt her family had previously only focused on the hard targets of "feeding her three meals and washing her clothes." As a result, Aunt Zhang kept holding her meals in her mouth and refused to swallow because her swallowing function had deteriorated. She lost four kilograms in half a month, and she always hid in her room crying. After we came to our home, we first found out that she was a singer in a cultural troupe when she was young. We sang her favorite "Nanniwan" with her twice before feeding her. After she relaxed, we used the homogenized meal of adjusted consistency and fed her slowly at her pace. She gained two pounds in two weeks. Later, she was willing to take the initiative to talk to us about her past performances at the grassroots level.

You have to say that this is the work of ordinary housekeepers. You have to understand the key points of care for elderly people with dysphagia, the emotional guidance methods for the elderly with dementia, and even some of the literary and artistic talents of the elderly of that era.； You can say that this is a job of medical care. We cannot perform professional medical operations such as acupuncture and diagnosis and treatment. All work contents are adjusted at any time according to the actual needs of the elderly.

Last month, I met Grandpa Li, who lives alone. He has suffered from high blood pressure for many years and his children have all settled in Shenzhen. He used to rather suffer his dizziness than find a caregiver. Later, he learned that the caregiver he hired before told everyone that he "occasionally has incontinence of urine and feces and is very dirty", which hurt his self-esteem. Every time we visit his house, we first squat with him on the balcony for half an hour, watering the sunflowers he planted, and chatting about the new orchid varieties that arrived at the flower and bird market last week. Only after they are ripe, he is willing to cooperate with us for a physical examination. Now he also takes the initiative to come to the inn to take calligraphy classes, and everyone calls us his "year-old friends."

I usually tell new caregivers that our job is actually like a "non-slip mat" for the elderly in their later years. It doesn't have to be high or conspicuous, but it has to be soft and considerate enough to be able to handle the embarrassment that they are embarrassed to tell their children, and to be able to withstand those things that they are embarrassed to tell their children. Small risks that suddenly appear - for example, if an old man gets up in the middle of the night and falls, you have to decide immediately whether to help him or call 120 first. When you encounter an old man who is choking while eating and can't breathe, you have to use the Heimlich maneuver for first aid. These are all instincts engraved in your brain after working for a long time.

There are indeed many irregularities in the industry today. Some small organizations just hire someone for training and start working in just two days, which has ruined the reputation of many people. There are also many people who feel that doing this is "serving others and inferior to others", but those of us who have been in this industry for a long time are all You know, the feedback from the old man is the most honest. If you are really nice to him, he will secretly stuff you with fruit candies that he has saved for a long time, and talk to you about everyday things that you haven’t talked to your children for a long time. This kind of real sense of value cannot be given by any job.