Thing 3: Why Digital?

The purpose of this Thing was to look at this infographic produced by Skills for Care about digital capabilities in the adult social care workforce and reflect upon my own experience with digital technology. 

One thing that really stood out to me is the disparity between the percentage of surveyed staff who reported owning a personal smartphone (nearly 75%) and those who actually use their smartphone for work purposes (20%). Although surveyed mangers and staff identified "improving the quality of care services" and "offering benefits to the people they support" as two key benefits of digital technology in social services, the statistic that only one in five members of staff use their personal smartphone to achieve these aims raises a number of questions about the use of personal devices and provision of digital equipment for work-related tasks. In my personal experience working in palliative care in the community, there is an increasing need for staff and managers to utilise their smartphones to evidence and manage the delivery of care using domiciliary care software such as CarePlanner. This suggests that facilitating adequate training in digital technologies and widening access to learning opportunities to promote digital literacy in the social care workforce are necessary to effectively support the people who use these services. 

I also completed this digital self-assessment to establish my own level of confidence in applying my digital capabilities in my role. While I rate my digital capabilities and their relevance to my position very highly, I feel that my confidence in applying these skills is only average. This is partly due to my reluctance to engage in developing my own digital literacy. By avoiding opportunities to use my digital capabilities to further my own learning over time, I created a negative mindset around the utility of technological innovations to support my own development and improve the experience of service users. I am taking steps to rectify this by participating in this challenge with an eye towards building upon my strengths rather than emphasising my weaknesses. Ultimately, the digital landscape is constantly evolving and the adoption of digital technologies in social care provision is likely to continue increasing as we must prioritise efficient care and positive care experiences during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.