Reflective narrative and dementia care

This study was an enquiry into how clinical supervision could enable a team of six community psychiatric nurses to provide improved patient-centred care. It also examined how feelings of burn-out, stress and tedium when caring for people with dementia could be relieved. The methodology used in the study analysed the process, enabling the findings to be studied. This is new paradigm research, requiring the researcher and participants to be equal and active coenquirers into the process facilitating the enquiry. Six community psychiatric nurses allowed their period of supervision to be recorded over six months in order to identify relevant issues of concern and resolution in their practice. It was anticipated that the experiences revealed during supervision would provide a means by which the nurses could develop their skill and knowledge and improve their care-giving. The findings suggest that the education of community psychiatric nurses needs to enable them to develop the ability to demonstrate emotional competence and to carry out self-questioning.