Twenty Habits to make Dementia Care Fun

HYUK GA, a family doctor and geriatrician, has been treating dementia patients in convalescent (long-term care) hospitals and nursing homes in Korea for 18 years. He is also the educational director of the Korean Convalescent Hospitals Association (KCHA) and deputy editor of the Ann of Geriatr Med Res (AGMR), the official journal of the Korean Geriatric Society (KGS). Through his experience, he has discovered 20 habits that make caring for dementia patients enjoyable, and he presents the evidence behind each technique through research and case studies in easy-to-understand language.

The most distinctive aspect of this book is that those 20 habits are illustrated with easy-to-understand symbols. Finally, they are embodied in the SIX ICONS, which can be seen in the APPENDIX. That's why the author named the title of the Korean version as "SIX ICONS TO MAKE DEMENTIA CARE FUN". The book also provides effective ways to deal with the various behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia and shows how to communicate with people with dementia through empathy. This book will help you discover the joys of caring for someone with dementia and will also help you improve your own health.

It's important to understand your patient's heart.
When you do, you'll find it's much easier to turn resentment into compassion.
It's the moment when you start to see the joy in caregiving.
When we start to view caregiving as a kind of emotional labor,
it can feel quite overwhelming.
It's also important to remember that caregiving is for you as much as it is for the patient.
When you care for yourself, you can truly be joyful.
What do you think caregiving for oneself might look like?
It's all about receiving love from the patient.
What kind of person do patients love?
They do someone who accepts them just as they are.

So

Let's accept dementia patients as they are.
Let's receive love from our patients.
Let's care for ourselves.

And that's when joyful caregiving begins!

I really hope this book will be the ticket for embarking on a new journey for you!

Hyuk Ga, August, 2024