One of the top pain points for family caregivers is the need for training and education. Many family caregivers were tossed into a family caregiving role overnight or may have seen the need for more care coming but didn’t know what they didn’t know. Either way, family caregivers struggle to keep their heads above water. They are left to train themselves on how to do certain duties and make caregiving a part of their life without the risk of caregiver burnout.
I know I’ve been there, and I would have been eternally grateful to stumble in a Google search on a whole directory of courses that could have helped me. It didn’t exist for me in 2014, but it does now!
Whole Care Network is where the Care Economy Collaborates
I have been a part of Whole Care Network (WCN) since the beginning as a podcaster. The Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast is in its sixth year! As an extension of the Care Colloquium event last November (where thought leaders met to discuss ways to tackle the growing caregiving issues) and to help amplify what those of us who work ‘in the care economy’ are doing, WCN has elevated its game! Now, WCN is more than just a fabulous podcast network. It’s ‘where the care economy collaborates’. I often say ‘we are stronger together.’ However, this not only applies to family caregivers helping one another, but it also pertains to businesses working to amplify each other’s products and services.
This is what the care economy through WCN does. We know that with over 53 million family caregivers and all the attention their care recipients need, not one of us can solve this growing issue. We must unite and amplify to help more people in need.
WCN offers podcasts
What hasn’t changed is that WCN still focuses on the four pillars of care: financial, social, physical, and spiritual. And WCN still boasts several of the top caregiving podcasts including Daughterhood the Podcast, Untangling Alzheimer’s and Dementia, Caregiver Chronicles, and Happy Healthy Caregiver. You may want to check out several new podcasts in WCN’s directory! We are always looking for more podcasters, so whether you are interested in a limited podcast series that you have help with or want to start your own, reach out, and I’ll share information on how you can get started.
Introducing WCN University
WCN University is a new extension of the new Whole Care Network.
WCN University elevates the WCN brand and gives you access to a village of support. I call WCN University the ‘peloton for family caregivers’ because it has something for everyone. Depending on my mood and needs, I can use my Peloton app to meditate, get stronger, or work out my frustrations.
WCN University has a course directory that brings the four WCN pillars to life for family caregivers. Dozens of on-demand learning courses are already available at WCN University, and we are just getting started!
Courses highlight the expertise of Certified Caregiving Consultants, Certified Senior Advisors, Occupational Therapists, Yoga Instructors, Speech Pathologists, Physicians, End of Life Doulas, Financial professionals, Psychotherapists, and Social Workers.
So far, I am offering one WCN University digital course. It’s called ‘6 Steps to Infuse Self-Care Into Your Caregiving Life‘. This video course will help mitigate the risk of caregiver burnout and teach tried-and-true tips to infuse self-care into your busy days. The course curriculum consists of 5 lessons: Be Bold With Your Time, Regain Your Sense of Self, Get Creative with Physical Self Care, Nurture Your Emotional and Mental Health, and Collaborate for Success.
This video explains why I created this course for family caregivers:
Here are a few other courses in the WCN catalog that are available a la carte from other WCN care experts:
- Family Caregiver Essentials – FREE course – Family Caregiver Essentials™ Course is designed to provide the essential tools you need to help manage your caregiving journey.
- Guilt Detox: Saying Goodbye to Caregiver Guilt – FREE course
- Navigating the Caregiver River: Prevent Burnout with Boundaries – We explore how setting, modifying, and reinforcing boundaries can prevent caregiver burnout. We delve into boundary-setting barriers and how to overcome them. Finally, we consider who to include and detail how to set boundaries confidently.
- ADLs for the Family Caregiver: Bathing – Shower transfers, common equipment, rules of bathing hygiene and safety, bathing fall prevention, and techniques to promote privacy, dignity, and calm during bathing in the shower. Course access is for 30 days.
- Make Your Plan with Dr. Lamb – Week Course with lifetime access. Dementia family caregiver, stop feeling uncertain about the unknown. Instead, feel prepared, informed, and ready to act confidently, having created a plan for your person’s medical decisions now and into the future.
- Yoga to Cultivate Resilience – This 8-session course will help you learn a variety of techniques to help you discover your unique capacity to bounce back and recover from the daily stress and chaos that we all experience in our daily lives.
- Why is Eldercare so Expensive?! – Learn why elder care is so overwhelmingly expensive for families today and how to tackle this challenge with financial solutions.
- Fall Prevention for Non-medical Caregivers: The BIG Picture – Essentials of Fall Prevention for non-medical caregivers! This comprehensive course covers fall risk factors and how to prevent falls as a non-medical caregiver. Course access for 30 days.
Course length and prices vary. Check back with WCN University as new courses are continually being added. Let me know what course you’d like to see me create next!
WCN University also offers a ‘Family Resource Community‘ where membership is $1.99/month. The member community provides exclusive access to LIVE expert events, a curated experience to get resources FAST by interacting directly with site experts, and immediate help with access to two of WCN’s courses for practical help now. Learn more here.
