Browsing by Author "Newton, Gillian"
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- ItemPalliative care workers’ stories of workplace literacy acquisition during a time of crisis(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-12) Newton, Gillian; Frick, Beatrice Liezel; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Curriculum Studies.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Covid-19 crisis brought about a need for competent frontline healthcare workers the world over. These workers are not limited to the healthcare professionals who delivered care in emergency rooms and intensive care units; palliative care workers were also called upon to care for patients with Covid-19, as well as those with chronic diseases who were at risk. There is a dearth of research on how this group of healthcare professionals acquire the necessary workplace literacy skills to function effectively in a time of crisis. This research explored the stories told by palliative care workers as well as the literacies needed, developed and acquired to enable them to treat patients with life-threatening and chronic diseases during a crisis. They were often required to do work that was beyond the scope of any training they had received previously. A narrative approach was used to explore what the storied accounts of this small group of palliative care workers in South Africa told about the workplace literacies that were gained during a crisis such as the Covid-19 pandemic. The study investigated the workplace literacies that the four participants acquired and also took the factors that helped or hindered this acquisition into account. The transformative learning journeys of these professionals were explored to determine how and whether disorienting dilemmas played a role in their literacy acquisition. Transformative learning theory as a lens was used to explain the ways in which the participants in this study obtained knowledge and skills during the Covid-19 pandemic. This thesis concludes with a combined discussion of the findings, and the answers to the research questions are discussed. An outline of the limitations, insights and relevance, as well as implications for the training of palliative care workers in times of a crisis is provided. In this way, the research contributes to understanding of the development of workplace literacy as a key lifelong learning concern for healthcare and particularly palliative care professionals.