Role of the social worker in old versus new culture in nursing homes.

Social workers play a crucial role in the lives of people living in nursing homes. Many of us are trying to change the prevailing nursing home culture from one of merely delivering services that sustain life to one of infusing life with the joy of living it. As social workers, our education teaches us that we must engage with the person where she or he is, use ourselves purposefully to help those we work with discover and build on their individual strengths. But is there coherence between these values we are taught and our actual practice?