IN THE PRESS

Dr Bob Rankin, who retired from Dundee University last year, has recently launched the Rankein Scale.

And together with Martin Laidlaw – a retired senior manager in further education – and publisher Gillian Nineham, he is now making contact with organisations involved in caring for vulnerable people.

The trio are confident the new tool has the potential for a multitude of applications.

Dr Rankin explained: “I think it has the potential to revolutionise the caring sector.

“The reason behind its development is to try to improve the quality of individuals being recruited to work in the care sector, where there are lots of vulnerable groups of people for whom it can be a challenge to communicate their needs.”

Dr Rankin worked for almost 30 years as a senior lecturer in nurse education.

So he had a particular interest in the relationship between emotional intelligence and the quality of clinical practice.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE CARING SECTOR >>> CAN IT BE TAUGHT?

We may be entitled to expect that everyone working in the caring sector would already possess the necessary skills to be able to demonstrate compassion and empathy towards those receiving care. However, we continue to hear about too many examples of poor attitudes towards some very vulnerable people by a small but significant minority of staff. The fact that some care providers perform better than others suggests that standards can be improved. Clearly there are fundamental conditions that have to be in place including quality leadership, adequate resources, open and respectful communication but the real key to delivering quality person-centred, compassionate care is to have the right staff in place. 

The best organisations will invest time and energy into their recruitment and selection processes and, while there are no guarantees, this is likely to pay dividends. You can also be sure that the best staff will be attracted to the best organisations and will also be more likely to stay. So, what should we be looking for in care staff? Qualities that are often highlighted such as reliability, flexibility, honesty, empathy and respect, tend to be the types of qualities that enable relationships to be formed and trust to be developed. However, how can we be sure that new recruits possess such qualities and what can we do with existing staff who appear to be lacking?

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT EMPLOYING APPRENTICES IN SOCIAL CARE

What is an apprentice?

Apprentices are paid employees who work within your team learning from colleagues on the job whilst also studying towards gaining qualifications.

What is the minimum age for an apprentice?

Apprenticeships can begin at the age of 16. There is information about employing young people here.

What sort of roles do apprentices take?

They may work directly with your clients or help provide a service such as catering, finance or administration among others.

Do I have any say in what they do on the job?

Yes, you can adapt your apprentices' programmes to suit the needs of your organisation.

Are there different levels of apprenticeship?

Yes there are three levels:

Intermediate Apprenticeship in Health and Social Care Level 2

Advanced Apprenticeship in Health and Social Care - level 3

Higher Apprenticeship in Care Leadership and Management - level 5

ATTRACTING THE RIGHT CARE HOME STAFF

For those of us lucky enough not to need to be cared for yet, what do we imagine for ourselves when that time eventually comes? If we’re to be cared for in a care home what sort of factors will we take into account if we have the opportunity of choosing the care home where we’ll live? First impressions of the physical surroundings are clearly important. Is the home comfortable, welcoming, clean? But more importantly, what are the staff like? You can live in beautiful luxurious surroundings but if the people caring for you don’t demonstrate compassion, empathy and treat you with dignity and respect and they aren’t willing or able to spend time communicating with you and understanding and responding to your needs, your physical environment can count for very little. 

So what can care home owners and managers do to make sure that they’re recruiting and retaining the best quality care staff? In our next few posts we’ll be looking at this topic in some detail and providing tips on how to recruit and retain excellent staff - the sort of staff we’d like to be looking after us when we need it.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND CHIPS?

The ability to recognise other peoples emotions is a key feature of our Emotional Intelligence. This article is really interesting and suggests we will have an emotion chip in our devices! For the full story click on the graphic or the text below.

CHIPS WITH YOUR EMOTIONS?

CAN EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE BE DEVELOPED?

Can Emotional Intelligence be developed? While some researchers believe that emotional intelligence is an inborn characteristic, others which includes us at the Rankein Scale, believe that emotional intelligence can be learned, developed and strengthened. Many individuals have enhanced their emotional intelligence when they put their minds to it.

In the workplace we believe that emotional intelligence can be learned and strengthened, but only when an employee understands how emotional intelligence can be used in the workplace and in our case the health and care sector.

ASSESSMENT TOOL THAT USES EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Imagine a practical online assessment tool that helps employers in the care sector to select staff who can demonstrate compassion and emotional intelligence. Or what about a quick online assessment tool that helps people to secure a valued job in the care sector? The Rankein Scale offers both. Check it out at www.rankeinscale.com

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IS IMPORTANT FOR CARE

Like any meaningful role, caring requires advanced skills, in particular those which enable complex interactions to take place. Most individuals who require care depend on the carer being able to recognise and respond to ever changing needs in a person-centred way. Often there will be barriers to communication and, frequently, there will be emotionally charged situations to manage. Meeting these challenges is only possible when the carer possesses interpersonal skills such as: empathy; genuine positive regard; active listening; emotional dexterity and intrapersonal skills such as: self-awareness; reflection; critical analysis and emotion awareness. A carer who lacks the necessary ‘inter’ and ‘intra’ personal skills‘ will find it very difficult to be receptive and responsive to the subtle needs of the individual. This is particularly pertinent when dealing with vulnerable people who may find it difficult to articulate their needs. ‘Inter’ and ‘intra’ personal skills can be described collectively as ‘Emotional Intelligence’.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE : A SUMMARY

This is a nice simple video that touches on what Emotional Intelligence is about. However it doesn't touch on how important EI is to the health and Care Sectors

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EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND CARE

Do you have what it takes to work in the caring sector? How would you know? If you are a manageror an employer already working in the caring sector, are you confident in your ability to identify and 
select individuals who do have what it takes? How can you be sure?  Imagine a family member or a close friend was receiving care either in their own home or in a residential setting. What type of person would you trust to take on this responsibility and how can 
you be sure that the person does indeed have the qualities that