nursingforsocialjustice

I was talking to a coworker recently who works for multiple housing not for profit organizations in the Vancouver area. At a certain point in the conversation we began to talk about two important issues: 1) staff burn out and 2) hiring practices. My colleague made a keen observation that sometimes employers hire those who are less educated and informed because it is more cost effective and, unfortunately, they are less likely to be aware of and advocate for their worker right. An unfortunate by-product of this is less skill of the worker, less investment and engagement of the worker and, ultimately worse job performance and care for service users in the organization.

I get it, it is not realistic, practical or effective to hire a bunch of regulated healthcare and social service professionals in a workplace that does not allow them, nor necessarily require them to work to their full scope of practice. But, at the same time the people that are using the service are very vulnerable, have multiple health (mental and physical) issues and need staff who are trained in certain things within certain skills and who understand certain perspectives. I am still trying to figure out how this is being done in the organization I work for. I know where I think the foundation is laid in the nursing realm; ideally in nursing preparation the foundational knowledge happens in the undergraduate program, with an emphasis on nursing students understanding the determinants of health and how mental health and physical health issues co-exist. I imagine there is similar foundational education in other baccalaureate health and social service programs. I imagine that this education may be as varied as in undergraduate nursing programs. I do not know how those who do not have any formal education and training acquire this knowledge. I imagine, much of this may be through lived experience, which is an important type of knowledge, but it is different than learning about it in the context of a health care and social service system where there is parallel teaching about the system.