Care Manager Job Description
A professional geriatric care manager is a health and human services specialist who helps families who are caring for older relatives. The care manager is trained and experienced in any of several related fields, including nursing, gerontology, social work
or psychology. They have a specialized focus on issues related to aging and elder care.
Other People Are Reading
-
The job
-
The care manager assists older adults in attaining their maximum functional potential and generally provides a home assessment, talking to the elder and family members. Then, she creates a care plan.
The care plan includes the results of the assessment, suggestions for actions, and referrals for local resources. Frequently, the family will not know the resources or options available. They may live far from the senior they are concerned about. The family is not obligated to implement any part of the care plan.
Why care managers are useful
-
A care manager provides a professional assessment of the needs and desires of the older person. He helps to find community resources to meet those requirements. A care manager will often assist in arranging for the services.
She will provide ongoing assessments to the family. The elder's capabilities and functions need to be monitored as time goes on, with adjustments made for any changes. She will assist with a residential placement if that becomes necessary.
-
Requirements
-
Registered nurses, licensed clinical social workers, and persons with certification in gerontology or master in social work degrees are potentially the most likely to obtain positions as care managers. Some care managers are in private practice. Their education, training and experience varies considerably, although they are knowledgeable about local resources.
The ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing are necessary skills.
Duties
-
Care managers have several primary activities. Their effort on behalf of a client begins with providing a comprehensive assessment. The assessment, usually based on a lengthy conversation with the elder and members of his family, will include medical, social, psychological and environmental factors. Important among these is a review of the senior's activities of daily living status, such as bathing, dressing and transferring from bed to chair. Problems with memory, speech, vision and hearing are also noted.
The care manager's next task is to prepare a comprehensive care plan that is provided to the client and family members. The plan includes action steps and the resources in the community needed to carry out the recommendations.
Once the plan is initiated, the care manager is responsible for monitoring changes in the client's status and reporting on them regularly.
Conclusion
-
Care managers can play a significant role in the community care of a senior and his family. The care manager's ability to assess her client's circumstances, discover the appropriate resources and communicate her recommendations effectively makes her an important helper in the proper support of frail elderly persons.
-
