<p>The dissertation <i>What to do and how to be</i> reflects upon the professional skills needed by unit managers and nursing staff within the institutions of eldercare. Throughout the study, three conceptions are essential: formal education and training, professional skills, and individual competence. In order to understand the professional skills within its proper context, an activity perspective has been applied.</p><p>The study is based on empirical materials, historical and present national and municipal documents, interviews with and observations of unit managers as well as questionnaires filled in by nursing staff members.</p><p>A main result is the stress the respondents put on the importance of individual competence among unit managers and nursing staff members. “How to be” is more important than formal training and professional skills. To work with – and develop – individual competence therefore becomes momentous both to job activities and to education. The result shows a discrepancy between the way professional skills are discussed and the actual work performance. A lot of tasks carried out by unit managers and nursing stuff are never mentioned in connection with professional skills. The unit manager’s task is to lead both unit operations and staff work. Such responsibilities demand basic knowledge in social sciences, an overall understanding of the work activities from political management, job conditions and duties of the nursing staff.</p><p>The professional skills given priority are those present in organisations and leadership. Problematic are economic and budget tasks which may sometimes cause unit managers to give up their economic responsibility, favouring client – directed over economy – directed care.</p><p>The main task of the nursing staff is the care of elderly. It calls for social, caring, medical and housekeeping skills. For this one needs an upper secondary level education supplying the students with solid knowledge within social science as well as basic medicine and an overall understanding of the situation and needs of the elderly. Throughout the study, knowledge of the demented and of other mental disorders is emphasized as well as treatment of elderly persons suffering from those disorders. Units still have a long way to go before reaching the goal that every nursing staff member be given a formal education. Some municipalities already offer employees shorter nursing staff training. As to the rest, the educational development is neglected.</p>

This essay is a study about how people who work at caring facilities, such as retirement homes, reflect about their role as caregivers for people that are in the last phase of their lives and how they reflect about meeting death at work. The study is conducted through interviews with six people that currently work or have worked at caring facilities.  In the essay the informants’ perceptions of a good death are discussed, and what they strive to do when caring for a dying person. The concept of a good death is also discussed in relation to euthanasia. The primary result is that it is evident how the informants use empathy and internalisation as tools to estimate what the caretakers desire. This internalisation leads to a large personal commitment to caring, and can possibly affect the person who provides the care on a personal level. Four of the six informants believe in paranormal phenomena and this is discussed in relation to their work of caring for dying people. Some of the informants report that they feel a responsibility to care well for the person before s/he dies so that they will rest in peace and not start haunting. These primary themes are discussed in relation to Berger &amp; Luckmann’s concept of border situation, and it is shown that the informants have in different ways internalised their experiences from working with death to manage the crisis for the symbolic universe that death entails.

The dissertation What to do and how to be reflects upon the professional skills needed by unit managers and nursing staff within the institutions of eldercare. Throughout the study, three conceptions are essential: formal education and training, professional skills, and individual competence. In order to understand the professional skills within its proper context, an activity perspective has been applied. The study is based on empirical materials, historical and present national and municipal documents, interviews with and observations of unit managers as well as questionnaires filled in by nursing staff members. A main result is the stress the respondents put on the importance of individual competence among unit managers and nursing staff members. “How to be” is more important than formal training and professional skills. To work with – and develop – individual competence therefore becomes momentous both to job activities and to education. The result shows a discrepancy between the way professional skills are discussed and the actual work performance. A lot of tasks carried out by unit managers and nursing stuff are never mentioned in connection with professional skills. The unit manager’s task is to lead both unit operations and staff work. Such responsibilities demand basic knowledge in social sciences, an overall understanding of the work activities from political management, job conditions and duties of the nursing staff. The professional skills given priority are those present in organisations and leadership. Problematic are economic and budget tasks which may sometimes cause unit managers to give up their economic responsibility, favouring client – directed over economy – directed care. The main task of the nursing staff is the care of elderly. It calls for social, caring, medical and housekeeping skills. For this one needs an upper secondary level education supplying the students with solid knowledge within social science as well as basic medicine and an overall understanding of the situation and needs of the elderly. Throughout the study, knowledge of the demented and of other mental disorders is emphasized as well as treatment of elderly persons suffering from those disorders. Units still have a long way to go before reaching the goal that every nursing staff member be given a formal education. Some municipalities already offer employees shorter nursing staff training. As to the rest, the educational development is neglected.

The aim of this study is to examine women’s night work and conceptions surrounding it, with a special focus on nursing assistants. This is done in part trough a genealocial method and in part discourse analysis of historical as well as contemporary documents. The study is based on a Foucauldian approach in which mainly discourse, power/knowledge, discipline, and problematization are used. The analysis shows that there are a number of different discourses present in both the historical and the contemporary documents, mainly risk discourse and health discourse. The analysis also shows that women in general through these discourses are considered more at risk of certain illnesses and that they appear as vulnerable subjects. At the same time the analysis indicates that night working nursing assistants are marginalized and somewhat unseen in both their work place and in general as far as research is concerned.

Ledarskap är en viktig faktor för att en verksamhet ska fungera bra, och det är chefens uppgift att se till att det fungerar. Syftet med studien är att undersöka om chefens kommunikation, motivation, konflikthantering och närvaro påverkar upplevelsen av ledarskapet inom äldreomsorgen. Metoden som har använts i studien är kvantitativ där datamaterialet samlades in via enkäter i en grupp på sociala medier. För att ta reda på om det fanns något samband mellan upplevelsen av ledarskapet och de fyra teman så genomfördes hypotesprövningar i form av chi-två test. Teorin beskriver de fyra teman, kommunikation, motivation, konflikthantering samt närvaro och varför det kan vara viktiga delar i ett ledarskap, det är detta som sedan kommer förhållas till i analysen. Denna studie påvisar att många av respondenterna är missnöjda med ledarskapet inom äldreomsorgen. Studien visar även att det finns ett samband mellan hur nöjda respondenterna är med ledarskapet och chefens kommunikation, motivation, konflikthanteringen samt närvaro. Studien visar att alla fyra teman har starkt samband med upplevelsen av ledarskapet. Det tema som visar starkast samband är motivation och upplevelse av ledarskap. / Leadership is an important factor for a business to function well, and it is the job of the manager to ensure that it works. The purpose of the study is to investigate whether the manager's communication, motivation, conflict management and presence affect the experience of leadership in the elderly care. The method used in the study is quantitative where the data was collected via surveys in a group on social media. To find out if there was any connection between the experience of leadership and the four themes, hypothesis tests were conducted in the form of chi-two tests. The theory describes the four themes, communication, motivation, conflict management and attendance and why it can be important parts of a leadership, this is what will then be related to in the analysis. This study shows that many of the respondents who are dissatisfied with the leadership in elder care. The study also shows that there is a connection between how satisfied the respondents are with the leadership and the manager's communication, motivation, conflict management and attendance. The study shows that all four themes are strongly associated with the experience of leadership. The theme that shows the strongest connection is motivation and experience of leadership.

The aim of this study was to examine the correlation between home care assistants’ job satisfaction and the intent to switch jobs or career path. We also aimed to examine the correlation between home care assistants’ form of employment and their intent to switch jobs or career path. Given the fast approaching difficulties recruiting an adequate amount of care staff in elderly care to cover the demand of care staff in the light of the population at large getting older, which means there are progressively more older people for the younger population to care for. A quantitative study was performed on 74 home care assistants. To analyze our results we used Herzberg’s two-factor theory, the social psychology theory of attitudes and job satisfaction. Our result showed that our respondents were particularly satisfied with the relationship with the care recipients, but it also showed that they were not more inclined to switch jobs or career path when they were dissatisfied with the relationship with the care recipients. The result also showed that the full time employees compared to part time employees had a higher intention to leave their employer. In conclusion, we gathered that there are several components that affect the home care assistants’ inclinations to switch jobs or career path.

<p>The purpose of this study is to investigate the young caregivers thoughts of the elderly caretaker. A qualitative method was chosen when interviewing young caregivers in order to get an insight of how they perceive and speak of the elders. The main questions of the study are: How do the caregivers believe that the elders perceive their day-to-day life and situation? Is it possible to distinguish if the young caregiver’s thoughts about the elders affect their work with the elderly caretaker? Is it possible to notice any common factors that the young caregivers perceive as important in their work with the elderly caretaker? The criteria for inclusion in this study are caregivers aged 18 to 25, who are working with elderly at special accommodation. The theories chosen for this study are the salutogenetic perspective, the activity theory and the theory of gerotranscendence. From the outcome of the study the conclusion is that the interaction between the elder and the caregiver seem to be decisive for how the young caregiver think of the elders and their life situation. The caregivers in this study experience that activities give the elderly a meaningful life.</p>

The purpose of this study is to investigate the young caregivers thoughts of the elderly caretaker. A qualitative method was chosen when interviewing young caregivers in order to get an insight of how they perceive and speak of the elders. The main questions of the study are: How do the caregivers believe that the elders perceive their day-to-day life and situation? Is it possible to distinguish if the young caregiver’s thoughts about the elders affect their work with the elderly caretaker? Is it possible to notice any common factors that the young caregivers perceive as important in their work with the elderly caretaker? The criteria for inclusion in this study are caregivers aged 18 to 25, who are working with elderly at special accommodation. The theories chosen for this study are the salutogenetic perspective, the activity theory and the theory of gerotranscendence. From the outcome of the study the conclusion is that the interaction between the elder and the caregiver seem to be decisive for how the young caregiver think of the elders and their life situation. The caregivers in this study experience that activities give the elderly a meaningful life.

The Swedish welfare state, and public elderly care of today in particular, is under transformation in many respects. Organisational restructuring, such as downsizing and new forms of organisation, mainly influenced by New Public Management, are some of the factors that have affected home care service. The purchaser/provider model is the applied organising model in the investigated municipality in one of the bigger towns in Northern Sweden. These changes, in combination with demographic changes which means an increasing elderly group who receive home care service, and the fact that more men carry out the care work, point towards some important themes such as time, needs and gender. The empirical material, consisting mainly of interviews, has been analysed from both a theoretical and empirical perspective. The voices of three groups; the care managers’, the care workers’ and the elderlys’ have been allowed to “inform” each other. The focus has directly and indirectly been on the elderly and the care they do or do not receive. The aim is to describe and analyse the conditions for meetings that take place between the elderly and staff in a home care service in transformation, based on the statements given by the different actors. Twelve women and four men in the group of care workers and six female care managers were interviewed. Four women and two men represented the group of elderly. A perspective on strangership, influenced by Simmel, is introduced to illustrate some of the aspects that cannot be taken for granted in care in a changing public home care service. Methodological choices and how these are handled, have been crucial. Important conclusions made are that meetings that take place in the home care service may look very different and can therefore not be viewed in terms of either only one aspect or another, or a combination of both, but rather as in concurrence. Time, needs and gender are subjected to negotiations in the hierarchy of the social services. The problems connected with time and the view of needs, are constantly moving around within and between the groups, but nevertheless remain. Gender is present in home care service in a way that contradicts the officially fixed neutrality of gender. A typical example is when care managers argue that gender is not a relevant factor in the needs assessments, even though this seems to be the case. The public home care service constitutes an arena, where constant negotiations between different groups and on different levels take place. In this divided organisation, negotiations concerning time, needs and gender are continuously in progress. Keywords: Care, elderly care meetings, elderly, care managers, care workers, public home care service, home care service in transformation, time, needs, gender, strangership, negotiations

Titel: Attraktivt arbete inom äldreomsorgen - Vad kännetecknar en attraktiv arbetsplats för undersköterskor och vårdbiträden? Bakgrund och problematisering: Inom de närmaste åren kommer fler människor vara i behov av omvårdnadsinsatser. Detta på grund av att människan lever längre och därmed också har flera sjukdomsbilder och är i behov av en mer omfattande omvårdnad. Likväl som det finns behov av att rekrytera för att ersätta en stor pensionsvåg de närmaste åren, räknat till år 2026. Det finns en utmaning i att både behålla och attrahera nya medarbetare till äldreomsorgen, då yrket är kopplat till hårda arbetsförhållanden och låga löner. Vad som får medarbetarna att stanna inom yrket är att de ser det meningsfulla i arbetet med att hjälpa andra människor och är engagerade i sitt arbete. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka vilka faktorer som kännetecknar en attraktiv arbetsplats, för undersköterskor och vårdbiträden inom äldreomsorgen för att förklara och tills del kunna få förståelse hur de kan attraheras till samt behållas inom omvårdnadsyrket. Teoretisk referensram: Studien har inspirerats av modellen för attraktivt arbete. Modellen baseras på faktorer som anses av vikt för en attraktiv arbetsplats. Då modellen i grunden är omfattande har författarna till denna studie valt ut lämpliga delar som lämpar sig till att studera attraktiva faktorer inom äldreomsorgen. Tidigare forskning: Studien tar upp tidigare forskning som berör äldreomsorgens historia, olika synsätt, dess utmaningar och styrkor. Fokus för tidigare forskning berör undersköterskor och vårdbiträdens roll samt förutsättningar och vad som är bra och kan förbättras för att skapa en attraktiv arbetsplats som både kan behålla och attrahera nya medarbetare. Metod: Till studien har en kvantitativ metod använts, som har inspirerats av två andra studier som även de berör faktorer för en attraktiv arbetsplats och dess modell. Resultat och slutsatser: Studiens resultat visar på att relationer till kollegor och brukare värderas högt och gör att medarbetarna trivs på sin arbetsplats. Personalen känner engagemang i arbetet, samtidigt som det uppkommer känslor av otillräcklighet och stress. Studien visar på attraktiva faktorer som anses värdefulla. Faktorer som kan få medarbetare att stanna kvar i äldreomsorgen är; att det erbjuds större delaktighet i beslut, ett schema som medarbetaren känner sig bekväm med och högre lön. Det är också viktigt att känna en yrkesstolthet och att samhällets syn på att det är ett lågstatusyrke förändras och att det visas hur betydelsefulla och komplexa arbetsuppgifter som undersköterskor och vårdbiträden utför. / Title: Attractive work within elderly care – What characterizes an attractive workplace for assistant nurses and care assistants? Background and problematisation: Within a few years more elderly will be in need of some type of nursing care. This due to that mankind lives longer and have multiple diagnoses renders the need of more qualified nursing care. There is also a need to recruit new employees due to the large number of retirements coming up to the year 2026. There is a challenge in retaining and attract new employees to the elderly care though the profession has tough working conditions and low salaries. What makes employees stay in the profession is that they see the meaningfulness in helping other people and that they are well invested in their work. Purpose: The purpose with this study is to explain and to some extent grasp what characterize an attractive workplace for assistant nurses and care assistants within the elderly care to get an understanding how they can be attracted and retained in the elderly care profession. Theoretical reference frame: This study has been inspired by the model for attractive work. The model is based on factors that constitutes an attractive workplace. Due to the extensiveness of the mode, this study has chosen applicable factors to use within the elderly care system. Previous research: This study shows previous research that touches on the history, different approaches, challenges and strengths. Focus in on assistant nurses and care assistant's role and prerequisites. The study also looks at what perceives as good and what can be changed to the better to create an attractive workplace that can retain and recruit new employees. Method: This study has been inspired to use a quantitative method due to two other studies that used the model attractive work. Results and conclusions: The results show that the relationship between work colleges and caretakers are ranked high and is the cause to that employees thrive at the workplace. The employees feel commitment to the work but at the same time have emotions of insufficiency and stress. The study points to factors considered valuable for an attractive workplace. The factors could potentially make employees retain in elderly care if they are offered - greater participation in decisions, a work schedule that the employee fells comfortable with and higher salaries. It is also important to feel a professional pride and that the public view of a low status work is changed so they understand the importance and the complexity of the task that assistant nurses and care assistants within the elderly care performs