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# Conclusion

In this free course, The caring manager in health and social care, you have examined a range of causes of personal and organisational stress for all those working in health and social care. By virtue of its very nature, health and social care is potentially stressful for both formal and informal practitioners. Change is an underlying factor in many of these causes of stress. Resilience to stress and anxiety varies from individual to individual, which in turn means that individuals’ responses to stress vary. You have seen that, whatever the reaction and context, a caring approach to the management of both stress and change is paramount for the wellbeing of all those concerned.

## Key points

In order to prevent the quality of care being compromised, if you have responsibilities for others in health and social care, you need to understand what causes stress in others, the different symptoms and how to deal with stress in those they manage and for whom they care.

Responding appropriately to the different ways stress manifests in others requires the development of a management style that incorporates contextual awareness and personal awareness (the personal awareness tool can help caring managers build their personal awareness).

Change in health and social care has a range of drivers and is an ongoing, recurring and complex process, but there is no blueprint or formula for making it work. When implementing change in health and social care, being a caring manager or leader requires an awareness of the relationship between stress and change.

This OpenLearn course is an adapted extract from the Open University course K318 Leading, managing, caring.

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OpenLearn - The caring manager in health and social care
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