Att kunna lära eller inte, i en stagnerande miljö där tiden rinner mot sitt slut : En kvalitativ studie om undersköterskors upplevelser av hinder och möjligheter för lärande i dess dagliga arbete inom äldreomsorgen

Sammanfattning: This study aims to create an understanding of how assisting nurses within the Elderly care perceive their fundamental conditions for learning during their job execution. More specifically the ambition of the study is, based upon the activity theorys´ stance, to reveal further knowledge of how these employees perceive their opportunities and barriers for learning in their everyday work. Two questions was formed in order to investigate this purpose further; “What obstacles do assisting nurses within the Elderly care perceive hinders them from learning in their everyday work ? and “What supporting functions do assisting nurses within the Elderly care perceive support their learning in everyday work?”. The study is based on a qualitative method, using eight semi-structured interviews with assisting nurses working at six different senior care departments at three retirement homes. By the use of the activity theory the collected empirical data has been interpreted and analyzed. The results showed that assisting nurses learning conditions is shaped as result of various interacting and multidimensional variables, which parallelly can act as hinders as well as supporting functions for learning. Based upon the results given we argue that the most important variables can be summarized as communication and close work with colleagues. These variables may contribute to further learnings, as long as the college in question possesses the relevant communicative tools, education and experience. Under these conditions the colleague can act as an supporting function to the assisting nurses´further learning. However if the colleague does not possess the relevant education, experience or communicative tools the learning becomes inhibited and acts as a barrier for further learning. Based upon the results given it also became clear that these conditions were related to and seems to be a result of all the activities within the activity system - the workplace.