"The majority of long-term care in the Netherlands is provided by certified nursing assistants, especially in home care and nursing homes," says Van Wieringen. "But their unique practical and situational knowledge and skills are often undervalued by colleagues. This has consequences for their professional self-esteem and professional pride, but also for the future of healthcare. The shortage of certified nursing assistants is predicted to become the largest of all healthcare professions in the Netherlands."
Practical tools
"In my research, I look at how this underappreciation – what I call epistemic injustice – manifests itself in social systems, policies and in daily interactions in the workplace. I investigate how certified nursing assistants experience these dynamics and how they deal with them. Besides theoretical contributions, my goal is to offer practical tools for more equal knowledge exchange in long-term care settings, in which certified nursing assistants participate and are recognized as owners and sharers of knowledge."
Retaining current forces and attracting new ones
"I am very happy and honoured with the Veni award. The grant gives me a relatively large amount of research time, so it comes at a good time. It strengthens my conviction that this theme must be addressed now. This is essential to retain the current professionals and to attract new people.”
“In this project, I collaborate with the Dutch Nurses’ Association (V&VN). Over the past seven years, we co-created multiple research and valorization activities, and it is great to be able to continue that collaboration.”