Personal Qualities of a Successful HHA

Home Health Aide Success: Personal Qualities of a Successful HHA

As a Home Health Aide (HHA), you will need to perform a variety of duties for each of your clients in their home.

These duties and tasks you will learn by getting proper training and earning your HHA certificate from a reputable school or agency. However in order to be successful, you must also have certain qualities, which we will discuss below.

Do you think that these qualities are ones that resonate with who YOU are?

There are general personal qualities of successful home health aides and how they make for quality caregiving when assisting their patients in their homes.

A good HHA will be able to take care of their patients and family members with the utmost respect and love while still maintaining professionalism at all times.

If you want to learn more about what it takes to be a successful HHA, then keep reading below!

Punctuality

A home health aide’s job is to provide care for their patients in the comfort of their home. This means that an HHA must be punctual so they can get where they need to go on time and not leave any client waiting.

Punctuality: When providing care at a patient’s house, it is imperative that you are able to give them your full attention with no distractions. Therefore, being timely is one quality that makes up success as a home health aide! Make sure you arrive promptly and do not overbook yourself by taking on too many clients or appointments all at once.

Honesty and integrity

Know that the work you are doing for your patients is critically important to them and their family. Be honest in how hard or fast you can help them get better, whether they need more exercise or if there’s a new therapy method.

Too many caregivers take shortcuts and cut corners because it’s easier than putting forth the extra effort but this doesn’t serve our patients well at all! You must be committed with integrity to provide the best care possible so as not to cause harm or make an already difficult illness worse.

Patience and Empathy

Successful HHA’s have a lot of patience because they are constantly providing assistance with daily tasks like dressing, bathing and walking clients who may be struggling with chronic illness that has left them weak or immobile. This can take hours each day so it’s important for HHAs to remain calm in these trying situations without complaining.

Empathy: An essential trait for a home health aide is empathy – which means understanding another person’s thoughts or feelings as if those were one’s own emotions. The more you empathize with your patient, the more you may be able to detect subtle changes in mood, appetite or energy levels which will tell you when something is not right.

Patience: Successful HHA’s have a lot of patience because they are constantly providing assistance with daily tasks like dressing, bathing and walking clients who may be struggling with chronic illness–such as Parkinson’s disease–that has left them weak or immobile. This can take hours each day so trust your instincts and be patient with your clients.

Strong Communication Skills

A great HHA will need to be able to communicate with his/her clients and their families on a daily basis. You may also have the opportunity to teach family members how to provide assistance or care for their loved ones at home. This is where strong communication skills come in handy.

You’ll want to always approach conversations respectfully, calmly and tactfully so that you can get what you need from someone without making them feel as if they are being interrogated or talked down too harshly. The same thing goes when speaking publicly about any sensitive topics such as health conditions, diagnoses etc. because it could make people uncomfortable – especially those who don’t know much about chronic illness like Parkinson’s disease!

Ability to Follow Instructions

As a home health aide you will be working directly with the client but at all times you will be under the supervision of a registered nurse. You need to be able to follow directions given to you by the RN and execute them appropriately.

A efficient HHA must be able to follow instructions and execute them appropriately. Failure to do so could result in an unsafe patient situation, or worse – a lawsuit!

In Summary

These top qualities of a successful HHA are ones that are very important to those who you will care for.

Above all else, the best thing to remember is treat each of your clients with absolute respect. Think if this was a loved one of yours – you would want someone caring for them to hold them in high regard at all times by providing the best care service possible.

If you can carry these personal qualities into your career as a HHA then not only should it prove fruitful but also immensely rewarding knowing your patients have been taken care of.