Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this project was to implement a 4-week educational practicum focused on the practice of caring leadership in a senior living home care setting and to determine how this approach impacted the therapeutic interactions and leadership competencies of home care team members.
Background
Caring practice models have been implemented in various healthcare settings. However, little is known about what kinds of interventions can develop leadership effectively or how to evaluate the impact of leadership on healthcare providers’ use of caring behaviors in professional practice.
Design
Descriptive, mixed method.
Methods
The Caring Assessment for Caregivers (CACG) instrument and the Leadership Practices Inventory-Self (LPI-S) instrument measured change in self-reported therapeutic interactions and leadership skills, respectively, before and after facilitating multi-site practicum sessions for caring leadership practice enculturation.
Findings
Among practicum participants, the mean change for the LPI-S and CACG subscales represented statistically significant improvement. The themes and subthemes identified suggest that leadership and relational expertise can be described within the context of professional, relationship-based practice.
Conclusion
The caring leader practicum intervention, a low-cost, workplace approach, was successful in improving the outcome variables in a 4-week period.
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