The project’s main objective is to develop new continuing education for lowest-level immediate superiors and team leaders in elderly care and thus support their leadership competence and work management, which increases productivity and occupational wellbeing. Leadership training gives them better abilities to contribute to having a happy and competent staff and satisfied clients in elderly care.
The aim is to reach the main objective by joint development 1) continuing education for immediate elderly care superiors and team leaders on contents which strengthen the competence needed at work and on which there is a joint understanding between the target group, their superiors, teams and project planners, 2) an implementation form of education which enables studying while working, reflection of personal activities, continuous learning and contacts between peers and works as a digital mentor in everyday work situations, 3) an implementation manner of continuing education which engages users to testing, completion and assessment of the impact of continuing education.
The aim is to make staff in elderly care organisations participate in planning, implementation and assessment of continuing education to ensure that the developed education supports the organisations’ strategic and operational objectives, staff’s expectations towards their superiors and education participants’ professional development objectives in the best possible way.
Six packages of the three-year project respond to three sub-objectives:
TP1 Selection of continuing education contents, TP2 Planning of continuing education contents, TP3 Planning of pedagogical solutions of the education concept, TP4 Planning of digital solutions of the education concept, TP5 Piloting of the digital mentor created for continuing education and TP6 Assessment and distribution of the education concept.
The main result of the project is team leaders’/immediate superiors’ improved competence in working as motivating coaches and competent role models for their team in implementing high-quality nursing. In addition, the project creates A) multimedia continuing education contents based on working life needs to support immediate superior competence needed in elderly care services, B) a new continuing education concept which uses mobile technology and pedagogical solutions for independent study and C) new information on impact of digital education on competence development. The developed education application will have an interactive user interface, reflection-encouraging operational logic and a platform enabling interaction between the participants to intensify the learning process and educate more competent immediate superiors. In addition, a publication will be made to document the project activities and results, describe the cooperation partners’ role in the development and increase general usefulness of the development results.
The employees, clients and owners will benefit of the project results: Elderly care team leaders and immediate superiors have the possibility to participate in continuing education and develop their competence. Operational practices and atmosphere will improve in elderly care organisations when team leaders and immediate superiors have better skills in reflecting their work, operation and thinking and identifying operational practices and development challenges as well as motivation and understanding to start team and work community development to respond better to customers’ needs. As staff competence increases, effects can also be seen in client satisfaction of sheltered homes and other nursing environments. Nursing services employers have a tool for development of team leaders’ and immediate superiors’ competence and assessment of development needs.
The project observations, results and education concept can be used in future development of continuing education methods.
Mentoring Themes
Dimes includes following mentoring themes that have emerged from the needs of working life and support the management and renewal of everyday work and the management of staff and the work community:
- Encountering an employee,
- Measuring the well-being of the community,
- Self management,
- Supporting professional development,
- Self-monitoring,
- Work-community and leadership,
- Responsibilities of the supervisor,
- Regenerative leadership,
- Customer orientation.