The First Visits: What Changes When a Caregiver Doesn’t Know the Client Yet?
There is a difference between visiting a client for the first time and walking into a home you've visited dozens of times. A familiar client comes with familiarity; You know the location, you know the routine, you have a better idea of what to expect.
A first visit is different.
And that's where Stan and Brian find themselves.
Two First Visits
Stan has been assigned to visit a client he's never met before.
Brian is doing exactly the same thing but for a different client, in a different part of town.
Neither caregiver knows the client personally.
Neither has been to the home before.
The difference begins before either one arrives.
Stan knows the client's name and has the basic information about the visit.
But as he gets closer to the appointment, questions begin to come up.
What exactly is the purpose of this visit?
Is there anything specific he needs to know?
Was there information from the agency that he was supposed to review?
He knows he has been assigned the shift.
He just doesn't have the same familiarity he would have after several visits.
Brian approaches his first visit differently.
Before leaving, he opens the shift assigned to him in the ShiftDove staff app.
He reviews the information available within the shift details.
The shift type gives him context about the service he is expected to provide.
The client's details tell him who he is visiting.
The visit address gives him the destination.
And any documents attached to the shift give him information his agency has made available for him to review.
Brian still hasn't met the client.
But he isn't walking into the visit completely cold either.
The First Visit Has a Different Kind of Uncertainty
A caregiver can't know everything about a client before meeting them. That's not the point.
The first visit is where the caregiver begins building that understanding but there is a difference between not knowing the client yet and not having access to the information the agency has already provided.
The first is natural.
The second can create unnecessary uncertainty. A caregiver shouldn't be expected to know information that hasn't been provided.
But when an agency has already made relevant information available, making that information easy for the caregiver to access can help them make better use of the time before the visit.
My Shifts as a Starting Point
This is one of the practical advantages of having the information connected to the shift. Inside ShiftDove's staff app, caregivers don't have to think of the shift as just a date and a time.
The shift can contain the context surrounding the visit.
Shift type.Client.Visit address.Documents to review.
That creates a starting point.
For a caregiver who already knows the client, some of this information may simply confirm what they already know.
For a caregiver visiting for the first time, it can be much more valuable. It gives them an opportunity to review what is available before they arrive.
Familiarity Takes Time
Brian's first visit doesn't suddenly make him an expert on his client.
He still has to meet the person.
He still has to learn their preferences, routines, communication style, and needs through the actual caregiving relationship.
Technology can't replace that human interaction.
What it can do is help remove some of the unnecessary uncertainty surrounding the visit.
And as Brian returns for future shifts, the context surrounding that client can become increasingly familiar.
The first visit becomes the beginning of a relationship rather than an information scavenger hunt.
Making the First Visit Feel Less Like a First Visit
Every caregiver has a first visit. The goal isn't to eliminate everything that makes it new.
It's to make sure the caregiver has access to the information they need to approach it with greater clarity.
That's what makes the way ShiftDove organizes shift information useful. The caregiver can open the shift, review what has been provided, check the location, and understand the type of visit before walking through the client's door.
Because a first visit should feel new because you're meeting a new client not because you're still trying to figure out where the information about the visit is.
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