Keeping your care team in the loop

Effective communication is key to managing your health. Discover how to build strong relationships with your care team and ensure they have all the information needed to support you best.

The power of honest communication

The most important tip for speaking with your care team is to include everyone. Keep every member updated on any changes, no matter how small they seem. Most importantly, always be honest with them. Your openness allows them to provide the best possible care tailored to your unique needs.

Addressing common communication challenges

Many times, people think the littlest things do not have to be reported to their care team. However, you would be surprised how important these "little things" actually are. Your care team needs a complete picture of your health and experiences to make educated and effective decisions regarding your treatment and well-being. Don't hesitate to share everything.

Communication Tips for Couples

  • Make your relationship a priority. Schedule a date night or couple time every week. Regular time together builds a positive foundation for your relationship.
  • Be an active listener. Give your partner your full attention. Listening is one of the most important parts of communication.
  • Practice good listening habits. Maintain eye contact, let your partner finish speaking before you respond, and ask for clarification when needed. For example: “So what I hear you saying is…”
  • Use “I” statements. Instead of focusing on what your partner did or didn’t do, express how you feel. For example: “I feel appreciated when you help me bring in the groceries. Thank you.”
  • Practice every day. Good communication takes daily effort. Pay attention to body language and eye contact, and be patient as you grow together.
  • Keep balance in your relationship. Set boundaries, spend time together that doesn’t involve caregiving, and ask for outside help when needed.

Include your Caregivers

It is important that you include your caregivers in your consistent communication. Many times your caregivers know you most personally and should know your personal preferences. And who best to tell them this? You of course. Usually when your caregiver first starts you let them know how you would prefer things to be done. Sometimes it is necessary for you to change caregivers and you need to inform them. I use a checklist that I have printed out, laminated and leave out for them to see. I've already gone over this with them. This is for my benefit as well as theirs. I often forget things and so I have a written reminder of the things that I would prefer to be completed.

Be sure to include specifics. If you live in a shared environment it is important to let them know what things are yours and what things are not. This will help to avoid things like accidentally shrinking your husband's brand new jeans in the dryer. I have a dedicated basket for my things to be laundered by my caregiver. It's a good idea to go over your specific preferences when it comes to personal products such as the products you used for bathing, washing your hair and lotion and deodorant. Don't be afraid to let them know how much you like to be applied. This avoids unnecessary confusion.

Also include things like how you prefer things to be folded or placed in the drawer. Sometimes something as little as that can upset somebody that's used to doing something the same way for 50 years. I also let them know the things that I prefer to do on my own. Such as dusting, folding of small articles and sometimes doing the dishes. I obviously need assistance with the bigger tasks but I also like to include my preferences with those as well. Don't get too picky of course, because they do have guidelines from their employers as far as how they should be doing things. If they go grocery shopping for you make sure to let them know the things that you do not like. Or a specific brand that you prefer.

Sometimes there are things that we do in our homes that we forget about because we do them on a daily basis and they become a habit. For example if your kitchen cabinets have a certain way of lining them up so they close that would be pretty important to let them know. Or you may have an appliance that works best at a certain setting.

I know there may be a day down the road that I am unable to communicate my wishes. So I would like to think they would continue doing things the way that I have requested them to do. This is why it is very important to make your needs and your wishes known now.

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