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How reflective practice can improve our aged care sector

Written bythriveadmin
Published on15 Jan, 2020
Adult Daughter Pushing Mother In Wheelchair

Social Futures recently made a submission to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety recommending all aged care workers are given the opportunity to participate in Wellness and Reablement Reflective Practice in order to continuously improve the quality of the care they provide.

Wellness and Reablement approaches support older people to maximise their independence and remain in their homes for as long as they can. Embedding Wellness and Reablement within this sector is a key goal for both the government and the broader aged care sector.

While most aged care workers are aware of Wellness and Reablement principles, many have not received formal training in the approach and are unclear how it relates to their individual work. Reflective practice is an important tool to enable aged care workers to successfully apply Wellness and Reablement in their practice. It provides a space for staff to think about how they work and practically apply Wellness and Reablement approaches to a range of relevant service delivery modes. The practice emphasises the value of their contributions while safely challenging any biases and assumptions they may hold.

Since Social Futures first piloted the concept in 2018, we have facilitated fifteen Wellness and Reablement Reflective Practice sessions with aged care workers in the Northern Rivers region. These participants reported that reflective practice is far more effective at integrating Wellness and Reablement into their day-to-day work than a traditional information session. Importantly, reflective practice allows for continuous learning and reassessment of skills, critical in changing established ways of working.

Social Futures offers free Wellness and Reablement Reflective Practice sessions for community aged care service providers in the Northern Rivers to help embed this approach within their service framework. Email [email protected] for more information or to book a session.