Has this happened to you? You are on busy shift and have just admitted an 88-year-old patient to the hospital because the family says that caring for patient at home “has become too much.” As you walk into the next room, you see that your new patient is also in her 80’s and has dementia. The patient looks amazing, but the daughter who cares for her looks exhausted and depressed. How long will it be before this caregiver is also overwhelmed? You realize that the best thing you could do to help the patient is to help the caregiver. But what can you do?
In this dynamic, case-based lecture, we will explore the issues related to Caregiver Stress and Burnout among those who care for older adults. We will offer practical tips aimed at healthcare providers who encounter the impacts of caregiver stress in the clinical setting but who may not feel equipped to help. As faculty from Geriatrics and Emergency Medicine, we will share insights drawn from the literature as well as from experiences in our ACEP Level 1 Accredited Geriatric Emergency Department.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this lecture, the audience will understand:
- What caregiver stress and burnout are and how they impact both sides of the patient-caregiver dyad.
- How to identify caregiver stress and burnout, including how to use clinical screening tools to find cases that might go unrecognized.
- How to make effective recommendations and interventions to help caregivers who are experiencing stress and burnout as they try to meet the increasing needs of loved ones at home.
