Do you know what it means to be a mentor? Many people tend to misunderstand or not full grasp what it means to be a mentor. They might think that it means being a teacher, but a teacher and a mentor are two different entities. When you’re a caregiver, then you should focus on being a mentor.
So what’s the difference? A teacher is a person who instructs, who informs another individual about information that he or she doesn’t have or doesn’t know, in order for them to gain knowledge. A mentor is an individual who also instructs, but who also takes the time to ensure that the person learning understands what he or she is being taught and then guides them into applying the lessons into their everyday life. Being a mentor is like being a parent. You teach your children right from wrong, but that’s not 
enough. Sometimes they are still going to do the wrong thing, even though they know it’s wrong, and then you step in, provide discipline, and then inform them about why it’s wrong and apply that lesson to real life.
You’re not going to be disciplining the elderly individual who is in your care, though. That is not what it means to be a caregiver. However, if the patient in your care needs to learn how to do things differently, such as a stroke victim may have to learn how to walk again or talk, then you are going to be guiding them through this process of re-learning what they once knew.
You can certainly be a teacher and simply tell them things, but when you’re a mentor, you’re going to be by their side, encouraging them, guiding them, and helping them to learn from the mistakes that they make and find solutions to the problems in their path.
Not everyone is going to be a good mentor. It takes a certain level of patience to be a mentor, but that doesn’t mean you can’t improve. Mentors are some of the best guiding forces in life for millions of people. If you want to be the best caregiver that you can be, then consider being a mentor rather than a teacher or friend.
Being an in home care provider is a great responsibility, so take advantage of the opportunity that you have in front of you to make all the difference in the world to a person who needs that level of care.