Accentuate the positive

During a recent clinical supervision session with a carer, we were discussing what she had done that day. 'Oh, nothing special,' she said, 'just the day-to-day stuff.' She was, of course, referring to meeting the essential human needs of the residents, such as helping them with meals, taking them to the toilet, chatting with them, helping to meet their social and psychological needs. Further discussion revealed that although she thought that these activities were of vital importance to the residents, she felt that other people would not think they were important or valuable. This is a typical example of staff who work in nursing homes undervaluing themselves and what they do, and one has to ask how much of that is caused by external perceptions.