To Feel Belonging

"Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty"           
                                                                              Mother Teresa

 Imagine how residents feel when they come to a nursing home.  This can be isolating and lonely.  Research involving interviews of nursing home residents, staff, and families found that residents often lack social integrity.¹ 

          Social integrity occurs when we feel we belong and are part of a group.  For elders in nursing homes isolation can occur from both within the facility and from the outside community.  When new residents come to the nursing home, it is important to introduce them to other residents and help them to form friendship and become part of the group.  It is especially important that residents who are more cognitively aware are paired with others residents with whom they can develop relationships and have conversation. We should also encourage families to be involved and to help the resident be a part of the outside community as much as possible.  These are important ways to help elders maintain social integrity. 

Teeri, H., Kilpi, H., Valmaki, M. (2006).  Long-term nursing care of elderly people: identifying ethically problematic experiences among patients, relatives, and nurses in Finland.  Nursing Ethics, 13(2), 116-129.

To Feel Respected

"One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love.” 

                                                                                             Sophocles

 

          We don’t often think of the daily duties of our nursing assistant staff as being sacred.  But, providing intimate personal care to a frail elder really is a holy act.  In a research study, staff, residents, and families in nursing homes were interviewed.  One theme that emerged was that elders often felt a lack of physical integrity.¹  The inability to perform activities of daily living can be demoralizing and can lead to depression or withdrawal. 

          What can help our residents maintain a sense of physical integrity is receiving assistance in a compassionate and caring manor.  When staff is abrupt or don’t take the time to talk to residents while providing care, residents can feel like a burden.  Having a consistent trusted caregiver can be a blessing to a nursing home resident.  As leaders we must foster the sacred relationship that staff members have with the residents.  We must acknowledge the need for consistent assignment of caregivers and reward the caring and compassionate acts of our staff.  This is a way to improve the quality of resident life.

To Feel Dignity

“Every life deserves a certain amount of dignity, no matter how poor or damaged the shell that carries it”     

  Rick Bragg       

                                                                                                        

           Leaders in long term care must recognize the problem of loss of self-esteem and dignity faced by elders in the nursing home environment.  In a research study, staff, residents, and families in nursing homes were interviewed.  A theme emerged involving loss of psychological integrity.  Psychological integrity involves the right to make your own decisions and to feel valued and respected¹.

           Every individual needs to know that they have dignity, no matter how frail, handicapped, or cognitively impaired.  Part of giving elders a sense of psychological integrity is to provide them with the ability to make their own decisions, to have a voice in what happens to them, and in the care that they receive.  Staff can help elders feel respected and honored when they allow individuals to choose their own schedules and allow them to feel that they are in charge of their care. 

           Equally important is to learn about the background, history, dreams, and desires of our residents.  It is so important to appreciate each resident for their unique characteristics.  As leaders in LTC, it must be our mission to instill this respect and appreciation of our residents in our staff.   We must provide education and be firm about allowing each resident the right to autonomy.  Each day we need to celebrate our residents with a sense of love, gratitude, and respect.  

Teeri, H., Kilpi, H., Valmaki, M. (2006).  Long-term nursing care of elderly people: identifying ethically problematic experiences among patients, relatives, and nurses in Finland.  Nursing Ethics, 13(2), 116-129.

                                                                                      

To Feel Whole

"There is in all things visible a hidden wholeness"     

 Thomas Merton

   What does it mean to feel whole?   Individuals who have a sense of wholeness feel complete.  They feel fulfilled and content. The opposite is to feel emptiness and a void.  Teeri, Kilpi, & Valimaki (2006) described this sense of inner wholeness as having integrity.  It stems from the Latin adjective integer which means to be whole or complete.  These researchers used interview data obtained from elderly patients, relatives, and nurses to examine feelings of residents in LTC.  They found three common problems faced by residents in nursing homes.

    First were problems related to a patient’s psychological integrity.  Psychological integrity includes the right to make your own decisions and to feel respect for one’s human dignity.

    Second were problems related to physical integrity.   Physical integrity includes the concern over being dependent on another and the compassion and respect of those involved in responding to physical needs

   Third were problems related to social integrity.  Social integrity includes the problem of loneliness and the need to be involved with others within the institution and from the outside world.   

   As leaders, we need to be aware how this impacts the quality of our resident’s lives.  We must work to combat the problems that impact integrity. In coming posts we will examine each of these three problems in more detail and discuss ways to help our residents to have integrity.

Teeri, H., Kilpi, H., Valmaki, M. (2006).  Long-term nursing care of elderly people: identifying ethically problematic experiences among patients, relatives, and nurses in Finland.  Nursing Ethics, 13(2), 116-129.