“You Have to Have a Certain Feeling for This Work” : Exploring tacit knowledge in elder care

Increased care worker knowledge has been emphasized for improving quality of care for older persons in organized elder care in Sweden. However, care workers and national policies are not always corresponding, with observations suggesting that care workers emphasize tacit knowledge. The aim of this article is to explore the nature of this kind of knowledge and how it can be identified and described. Field notes from participant observations at two elder care units in Sweden serve as the empirical material. Knowledge use for staff in elder care is part of a process of knowledge making and knowledge shaping. Analysis of the field notes identified the themes of “feeling for work” and “acting and artistry” as parts of a tacit knowledge in elder care. The processes of knowledge and job execution are closely intertwined, making them difficult to separate or even understand without a deeper insight.