Finding the right caregiver for your senior loved one suffering from dementia is one of the most important duties you can have in life. The caregiver can have a dramatic impact on your loved one's happiness, comfort, and autonomy. You want a caregiver that is compassionate, qualified, educated, understands the stages of dementia and Alzheimer’s and is able to treat your loved one with the respect and dignity they deserve.
It is a daunting task. Not everyone looking for a job is suitable for caregiving. The best caregivers see this work as a calling, not just a job. And being able to distinguish between those merely looking for a job and those called to caregiving is a learned skill, one practiced by the staff at Senior Helpers since 2008.
Understanding which caregiver is best suited for your loved one begins with a careful and detailed assessment of your loved one’s needs. For that task, Senior Helpers employs an industry-leading and unique assessment tool, LIFE Profile.
Based on this assessment and a nurse-supervised development of a care plan, Senior Helpers then considers the training, experience, and personalities of its caregiving staff to find the best fit. Our recruitment and training process begins with the following kinds of questions:
General/logistical Interview Questions
- Do you have your own car? If not, do you have reliable transportation?
- Do you have a driver’s license? Do you have a clean driving record?
- Do you have other commitments that may interfere with your schedule? If so, how often and when will you be able to provide care for my loved one?
- Can you provide references from your previous employers? Are these personal references or work-related? Will they vouch for your professional integrity and skills as a senior caregiver?
- Before we do our background check, is there anything that may come up that you would like to share with me beforehand?
- Are you a citizen of the US? If not, do you have a work visa?
- What are your salary expectations?
Questions About Past Experience:
- Can you tell me why you left your previous job?
- What would you say was the best part of your previous job? The worst part?
- How many senior clients did you work with during your employment with [previous employer]? Was this too few or too many for you to handle comfortably?
- At your previous job, can you explain what a typical day would look like?
- Do you have any previous experience caring for seniors with dementia? Can you tell me what those experiences were like?
- How many hours per week did you work during your previous job?
- How long have you been a caregiver for seniors?
- What is your educational background and your training as a senior caregiver?
- What did you dislike about your last caregiver job?
- What made you interested in being a caregiver?
- Do you have experience caring for individuals with medical conditions? Please explain.
Character Questions:
- What type of personality traits do you think an individual must have to be a compassionate caregiver? Please explain your answer.
- What are your strongest character traits? What are your weakest character traits?
- Give me an example of when you have been especially caring.
- What are some times when you have not felt especially caring?
- How do you deal with unpleasant or difficult people?
- Describe a situation where your personal values came into conflict with the values of an employer. How did you resolve the conflict?
- What would be your dream job?
- If I were to ask one of your family members for a reference, what would they say about you?
- How would your friends describe you?
- How would you describe yourself as a caregiver?
Situational/behavioral Questions:
- What would you do if a senior with dementia refused care?
- What would you do if a senior with dementia began to wander at night?
- Describe a time when your organizational skills came into play.
- If a person in your care was suffering from delusions, what would you do?
- How would you deal with an individual with dementia who was throwing things and screaming?
- What would you do if someone in your care refused to bathe?
- Why do you want this job as a family caregiver for a senior with dementia?
Questions Related to the Job:
- Are you comfortable performing all the duties listed in the job description?
- Are you comfortable performing personal care or hygiene tasks?
- What is your experience working with patients on oxygen? Can you name some of the equipment that you were responsible for maintaining and troubleshooting as part of your job?
- Are you certified in CPR?
- Are you expecting any PTO? Do you have any vacations or trips planned in the near future?
- Are you comfortable administering medications? Please explain your past experiences administering medications.
- What are your career goals? Please explain your answer.
Benefits of Hiring a Caregiver through Senior Helpers
If you are feeling overwhelmed by your loved one’s dementia diagnosis and don’t know where to start, you are not alone. Finding a caregiver on your own can be a daunting task to take on yourself and it’s hard to know where to start and which questions to ask. Hiring an agency can take the burden off of finding the right caregiver and give you peace of mind knowing that we will take care of everything for you.
If you choose to hire Senior Helpers, you can take comfort in the fact that our caregivers are all fully screened, extensively trained, and equipped to provide your senior loved one with the confidential care that will allow them to maintain their autonomy and stay independent for as long a possible.
Our home care providers are supervised employees and not independent contractors. Our agency verifies employee credentials and references, completes required background checks, assesses skills, and provides opportunities for ongoing training.
- Senior Helpers Orlando is accredited by The Joint Commission. Only 8% of home care companies receive accreditation from The Joint Commission, the nation's oldest accrediting entity in health care.
- We never send a stranger. Senior Helpers Orlando makes it a priority to ensure that caregivers are appropriately introduced before starting a caregiving assignment.
- Nurse support is available 24/7.
- Senior Helpers Orlando has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau in Central Florida.
- Senior Helpers has been recognized on Fortune's 2021 Best Workplace in Aging Services' list for At-Home Care!
- Senior Helpers Orlando is bonded and insured.
Contact Senior Helpers Today
If you think that you or your loved one would benefit from having a temporary or long-term caregiver, call Senior Helpers Orlando today at (407)966-2854 and ask to speak with a senior care specialist or schedule a free consultation.