Friday, 25 November 2011

High Self Esteem At Nursing Homes In Australia

By Byron Jonas


All the staff at nursing homes in Australia recognizes the need for high morale amongst the elderly under their care. This state of the mind is not reserved only for the elderly. Everybody in these care centers should enjoy living with high morale. The elderly, however, are the major concern because if they are happy then everybody else is happy, from cleaning staff to top management.

To achieve and maintain high self esteem, however, is a daunting task. It has been realized that one of the ways to achieve this is to encourage sharing of ideas and personal opinions. When a person feels that his ideas are respected then his self esteem rises. Unlike newcomers, those who have lived in these homes for sometime are not afraid to talk about anything.

One of the reasons morale dips when a person enters managed care dwellings is because his independence is reduced. The things they used to enjoy doing are now done for them. Most of the activities are timed and they feel like their freedom is no more.

There are a lot of things that can be done to reverse this. You can try giving them little jobs to do. You should be sure that they are capable of doing the work you give them. Another thing you can try is to get actively involved in their story telling episodes. Most will have carried along their photo albums, enjoy going through it with them.

One thing that keeps dipping the morale of people, even those who are not aged, is forgetting their names. When you forget their names you start calling them with general nouns and make them feel like they do not matter. Learn to refer to them by their real names. If there are decisions you can safely involve them in, please do so.

It takes a long time to help a person build his self esteem. You will need to sacrifice a lot and dedicate yourself completely. The nurses in Australia are made to understand this early enough so they know what they are getting into. The participation of everybody is needed in this endeavor, even managers and casual workers.

After high morale has been achieved in the units, it needs to be kept there. It is fairly easy to let it slide backwards. One way to lose it is to be overly hash to the members. This will make them open up less and reduce their morale further. They need to be handled with respect all the times.

The nursing profession is not about money minting. This is especially true in the care of the elderly where dedication and sacrifice is a prerequisite. The nursing homes in Australia recognize this fact. All prospective employees are therefore carefully vetted before they are hired.




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