At Centro Reloj de Arena, we see firsthand the realities faced by people with neurodegenerative diseases and their families. That experience has made us aware of a challenge that grows more evident every day: the caregiver crisis. It is increasingly difficult to find professionals with the training, commitment and vocation this work demands. In this article, María Isabel Tamayo Lopera, manager of Centro Reloj de Arena, shares her reflections on this issue and opens a conversation that concerns us all.
WE HAVE A BIG PROBLEM!
How hard it is to find staff who truly want to do their job with responsibility, professionalism, vocation and love for their profession.
Today I want to speak from my experience as a teacher, but also as a businesswoman who has spent the last 15 years devoted to caring for others at Centro Reloj de Arena.
Human frailty is a subject we may overlook because today we enjoy a life full of energy, health, beauty, dreams, loves and goals; but it is something else to see those who have already passed that stage and are now in the latest stage of their lives, facing the reality of losing their independence.
Old age has surprised them with illness, and not a common illness like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, a touch of diabetes or a sore knee. This is much worse: a neurodegenerative disease that has taken hold of their brain and makes their memories, every day, more blurred and, at the same time, more painful. And this is where the problem begins.
We have a caregiver crisis. What does that mean? That we don’t have enough trained, competent caregivers with a true vocation.
Today, most young people who study to become nursing assistants do so because they have no other option: they received scholarships and it is the only path they have to a job with better conditions; or else they study with great sacrifice, but lose sight of vocation and a sense of purpose.
Another underlying problem lies in the curricula. Vocational training institutions are simply looking for more clients. It’s no secret that education is also a business. We have forgotten to train people to serve. Learning concepts has become the most important thing, while empathy, kindness, courteous language and warmth toward others hold little place in training.
Some time ago I heard a phrase that really struck me: “What nature doesn’t give, Salamanca can’t provide.” What a harsh truth. What the family didn’t teach the child (principles, values and discipline), the university cannot give. Being a good person is something you learn from the cradle!
I can’t generalize, and I want to be respectful of the professionals who do their job well; but what experience has shown me is a common pattern: nursing assistants without vocation, harsh in their language and lacking technical command of the skills they should have learned thoroughly. There is a serious problem with following instructions, carrying out protocols and respecting the rules. They have forgotten that a health professional is someone willing to help in an emergency, to relieve pain and to make illness more bearable.
There is a big gap when it comes to providing comprehensive care. They think the job is only changing a diaper, bathing someone, sitting them in front of the TV and feeding them.
The well-known phrase “they just have no common sense” is a reality. What is obvious to one person is not to another, and common sense is perhaps, without a doubt, the rarest skill of all, because having common sense is a natural ability that allows us to make decisions and act logically and prudently when solving a problem or facing a situation.
Finally, and so as not to go on too long: the adult who has lost their independence is at the mercy of this caregiver to meet their basic needs. But how do we meet the needs of the soul? They also need affection, to hear a kind and tender word, a hug, a gentle look, an empathetic smile and care given with compassion.
What else can we do to get out of this problem? I don’t know the answer; I fall short. We are facing a real problem because the population keeps aging, and there will be no one to care for us: not for you, reading this text, nor for me, who wrote it today.
In the face of the caregiver crisis, part of the answer lies in education
At Centro Reloj de Arena, we believe caring goes far beyond meeting a person’s physical needs. Dignified care requires knowledge, protocols, empathy and deep respect for each human being’s life story.
That’s why, in addition to supporting people with neurodegenerative diseases and their families every day, we promote training, education and awareness initiatives that foster a more humane and mindful culture of care.
Learn more about our services and our Paloma educational program.
