Exploring Professional Quality of Life among TR practitioners working in Long- Term- Care Homes.

Abstract

Professional Quality of life (PQoL) is described as the quality one feels in relation to being a helping professional and incorporates both positive and negative aspects (e.g., compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction) (Stamm, 2010). To date, concepts within the PQoL framework have not been fully explored within LTC, nor have they been explored from the perspective of therapeutic recreation professionals. To fill this gap, this narrative inquiry explored the stories of Professional Quality of Life among four TR practitioners working in LTC homes within the Greater Toronto Area. Narrative accounts describe the complexities, tensions, and variations in describing experiences of PQoL among TR practitioners working in LTC homes. Key patterns and plotlines emerged revealing six narrative threads: experiences that fuel the soul and ignite TR spirit; experiences of seeking out opportunities for challenge and change; experiences in encountering professional tensions in TR practice; experiences in developing professional valour as a TR advocate; experiences of the workplace that shape PQoL; and re-imagining practice to foster PQoL. This study provided space for TR practitioners to share their stories surrounding phenomena within the PQoL framework. I offer personal, practical and social justifications of this narrative inquiry to facilitate future conversations in understanding PQoL to assist helping professionals along their professional journey.