An exploration of how recently qualified professionals in health and social care develop emotional resilience as they adjust to and manage increasing professional responsibilities and challenges to their professional identities
Abstract
The overall aim of this study will be to explore how recently qualified professionals adjust to and manage increasing responsibilities, including professional accountability, and the ways in which they respond to both challenging care situations and structural organisational change. The study will focus on 'critical moments of transformation' that are triggered by: incidents elicting an emotional response; ethical dilemmas; changing policy directives and organisational change and reflection on what it meant to be a professional in a care context.
This study will draw on and develop the Practice Based Professional Learing (PBPL) project 'Riding the waves' - an exploration of how students undertaking professional health care programme develop emotional resilience. An additional study of post qualified staff will help to evaluate and explore the relevance of findings from the initial study further along the trajectory of professional development.
The outcomes of this investigation will be a minimum of one publication and two conference papers and production of a report with recommendations for Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust and the development of various learning materials for professional programmes.
Objectives
This project has the following objectives:
- To apply a working definition of emotional resilience, arrived in the phase 1 research study, to qualified individuals (within the first 5 years of qualification) who have moved into front-line management roles in health or social care
- To explore how emotional resilience is related to external engagement within range of communities of practice
- To explore how emotional resilience is related to internal changes in perceptions of self and what it means to be professional
- To define strategies which individuals use to cope with and adjust to higher levels of responsibility in a changing professional environment
- From this investigation, to develop discrete learning objects, related to coping strategies, relevant for CPD courses and programmes
- To work closely with a Trust based in the North East and use findings from this investigation to influence policy and procedures related to critical incident de-briefings and clinical supervision
Related PBPL funded projects
- 'Riding the waves' - an exploration of how students undertaking professional health care programme develop emotional resilience
Contact
- Lindsay Brigham, l.brigham@open.ac.uk