“What are you afraid of?”

It’s a question that just about anyone can answer– it’s not too hard to think of something that scares us. Yet, perhaps the best response is to instead ask another question – “What can we do about it?”

That’s the question that was posed to a group of health care assistant students at Castleview Care Centre in Castlegar.

For students, the transition between finishing school and entering the workforce is often an intimidating time. When everything feels so overwhelming, the list of fears you may have is endless. These fears are only made worse when it feels as if there are no opportunities to discuss them.

That’s where the Fear and Solution initiative comes in. Inspired by popular YouTube group Yes Theory, SafeCare BC floated the idea of the initiative to members of its Front-Line Communications Working Group.

One member – Castleview’s Rehab Assistant Heather Greer – took the initiative and ran with it.

The student practicum turned out to be the perfect place to start this conversation. By asking the students to come up with a solution to their fears, their mindset changes. No longer are they worrying if anything can be done, they start thinking about what can be done.

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As Heather says, “Being able to find out what scares workers and being able to overcome those fears by whatever means will only make more productive and happy workers and less stressed residents.”

The fears listed by the students include everything from not knowing how to properly perform a one-person assist transfer to how they’ll feel when a resident passes away.

Whereas before they may have felt insurmountable, by simply talking about their fears, the Castleview group was able to come up with two solutions to each.

If any of the student’s fears sound familiar to you, it’s because they’re things that any continuing care worker can be faced with – no matter how many years of experience they have.

This is an easy exercise for any of your staff. Whether you are a student entering ready to enter the field, or a worker with years of experience, it’s ok to talk about your fears. That’s the best way to overcome them.