Care Aides' Relational Practices and Caring Contributions
Authors: Andersen Elizabeth A. , Spiers Jude 
Published: September 2016

How to Obtain Contact Hours by Reading This Article

Instructions

1.2 contact hours will be awarded by Villanova University College of Nursing upon successful completion of this activity. A contact hour is a unit of measurement that denotes 60 minutes of an organized learning activity. This is a learner-based activity. Villanova University College of Nursing does not require submission of your answers to the quiz. A contact hour certificate will be awarded once you register, pay the registration fee, and complete the evaluation form online at
http://goo.gl/gMfXaf
. To obtain contact hours you must:

1.
Read the article, “Care Aides’ Relational Practices and Caring Contributions” found on pages 24–30, carefully noting any tables and other illustrative materials that are included to enhance your knowledge and understanding of the content. Be sure to keep track of the amount of time (number of minutes) you spend reading the article and completing the quiz.

2.
Read and answer each question on the quiz. After completing all of the questions, compare your answers to those provided within this issue. If you have incorrect answers, return to the article for further study.

3.
Go to the Villanova website listed above to register for contact hour credit. You will be asked to provide your name; contact information; and a VISA, MasterCard, or Discover card number for payment of the $20.00 fee. Once you complete the online evaluation, a certificate will be automatically generated.

This activity is valid for continuing education credit until October 31, 2019.

Contact Hours
This activity is co-provided by Villanova University College of Nursing and SLACK Incorporated.
Villanova University College of Nursing is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

Activity Objectives

1.
Define the application of Swanson’s Middle Range Theory of Caring in care aides’ relational care practices for nursing home residents.

2.
Describe how nursing home managers can empower care aides to provide care.

Disclosure Statement
Neither the planners nor the author have any conflicts of interest to disclose.

The current study was a qualitative focused ethnography aimed at exploring the complexities of care; working environments; and knowledge, skills, and efforts of care aides who work in nursing homes. Over the past decade, dramatic shifts in staffing patterns in Canadian nursing homes have transformed care aides' assistive and caring roles. Care aides are now the central and most accessible service providers to nursing home residents. In the current article, the authors (a) conceptualize care aide work as caring rather than caring activities, (b) explore relational care as a foundational and significant component of care aide work, (c) interpret care aides' relational care practices through the lens of Swanson's Middle Range Theory of Caring, and (d) describe how nursing home managers can empower care aides to do this work. [
Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 42
(11), 24–30.]