Relasjonskompetanse i helsefag.- fagbok til bruk på utdannelsene

Project summary

In my contribution I will write position relational competence as a core capability in health and social work education, and discuss how the need for safe, trust-based and purposeful interaction increases as professionals meet more complex and combined life challenges. Drawing on children (Chapter 1), adolescents (Chapter 2) and health literacy (Chapter 3), I show how the relationship between professional and service user is not merely the “context” for an intervention, but often the very mechanism that makes support understandable, accessible and effective. The chapters highlight key tensions in practice, such as support and control, standardisation and flexibility, and professional distance and human closeness. I argue that relational competence must be taught, practised and assessed explicitly in educational programmes—through skills-oriented teaching, reflection on power and responsibility, and systematic links between theory, practice and lived experience