By Joan Devine Spiral-bound, 143 pp
Includes CD
About this book:
William Shakespeare posed the famous question, "What's in a name?" Shakespeare believed that "that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." If you called a rose a thistle, then it would still smell lovely. But, what if you called a thistle a rose? Would it not still be a weed, something to be pulled from the garden?
The message we need to take from this is how important it is to choose our words carefully and use them wisely, because contrary to what Shakespeare wrote, there's an awful lot in a name. Words carry important messages. Words can define a culture, a way of living.
Though we might not always think of it as such, those of us in the log-term care field share a culture, and that culture has built a curious language around itself. Considering we have made it our lives' work to comfort others, we use some cold and impersonal words to describe what we do. Some of that comes from the hospital system. Some of it comes from academia. And some of it we developed ourselves because we didn't stop to thnk how our words affect our care.
Many believe that changing our language is one of the key elements needed to change our culture. The language we use needs to define a new way of being, a new way of believing, and a new way of interacting between those who live and work in LTC commuities.
This process is a part of a larger journey. It's a tool we can use to rethink what we're doing, how we communicate with our residents and their families. It's a starting place for discussions about how we can improve our care and services. Changing our words alone won't change our practices -- we need to make a commitment to do both.
Person-centered care is so much more than a project or a program. Our new vocabulary must convey our new relationships and our new way of thinking if it is to bring lasting culture change to our communities.
Joan Devine
Lutheran Senior Services
June 30, 2009
