Analysis Of Being Mortal: Medicine And What Matters In The End By Atul Gawande

In conclusion, elderly Americans face many obstacles as they grow in age, such as ageism, workforce discrimination, poverty,

In Sovanne Koven’s review of Being Mortal she says, “Gawande offers no manifesto, no checklist, for a better end of life.” I disagree. Gawande’s whole book is a guide to death and how to lead up to it. Gawande is vague but he explains how to be more satisfied with your own end. A major part of Gawande’s book is when he tells the stories of different people. These dying people whom each have different cultures and experiences, tell a very similar story. Those of which whom are forced into a retirement home are just the opposite. One such case being Alice who went into a home because her son convinced her to. Alice’s attitude changed and she was not as happy as she once was. Alice was restricted to what she could eat, when she could leave, what she could do. It was a prison. But those who are able to live the last few years of their lives in their own homes, with their own things, in familiar surroundings tend to have a much

Although they are surrounded by healthcare providers who are tasked with saving their lives, they are not in a place where they feel comfortable. The author’s purpose is to send a message to the American society that they should be doing the opposite of putting the elderly in the hospitals and nursing homes, and instead take care of them. In the twenty-first century, medicine “take[s] that small child running through the yard, being chased by her brother with a grasshopper on his finger, and imprison her in a shell that does not come close to radiating the life of what she once had” (Profeta). The elderly are forcibly being placed in hospitals and nursing homes by their families, who do not want to take care of them. The memory shows the patient’s childhood of when she was full of joy, and all of that was taken away when she was put in a healthcare facility. They are now trapped in a place where they do not want to be in with physicians who do value their well-being, and rely on the technology of medicine to save them, but do not value their wishes to end their own

All over the news and in different programs that are implemented are set in place are geared toward children in poverty. Poverty in children is a huge problem happening all over the country but what about the elderly. We get so focus on helping the children that the elderly can sometimes be looked over and forgotten about. In Texas, 17% of all elderly are living in poverty. Poverty in the elderly is an issue that continues to rise at a fast pace and this may be because of food insecurity that they may face (Communities Foundation of Texas, 2016). Most people feel like getting old is so far in the future for them, or just the idea of aging is too hard to think about but getting old for all of us is imminent. The elderly once took care of us, so it is

When presented with the word “elderly,” a twenty-year-old might begin to think of the joys of retirement when an older person has spent their life building a comfortable bank account; they then get to reward themselves by journeying around the world with their near and most dear companion. When reality sets in, that person may realize that a lot of today’s elderly are living in nursing homes or living week-by-week not knowing if they are going to be able to leave their hospital bed just to go relax in their recliner at home. While it is true that some elderly enjoy their last twenty or thirty years on earth, a lot of the elderly in America are struggling to hang on to life while being abused every day by healthcare workers or even loved ones. While many people have been working endlessly to put a stop to elder abuse, not everyone can say the same.

This week, the lecture and additional articles were about the growing number of people reaching late adulthood and the problems that will be created for society. Society is not ready for the influx of elderly individuals needing assistance. In addition to discussing the amount of people reaching late adulthood, this week also touched on several models and theories in regards to aging. This week provided sufficient background information and vital knowledge for the introduction

The elderly are vulnerable for many reasons. For those whom can still take care of themselves, the major issue would be to be scammed. For those who are needing help, could be the victim of many forms of abuse.

While these aspects of society certainly do impact a nation with a growing older population, they are not the most problematic. Financial instability of the country should not be the spotlight of concern, but as people are living longer, people should be more concerned with that the typical life should look different in the future. With this in mind, the article proposes other areas of concern: lack of incentive for volunteering, little to no new education for older adults, and massive technological change with no way for older generations to learn how to use it. If these areas are not provided with change, it will ultimately lead to economic hardship for the elderly, due to the lack of new education and technological knowledge, which would, in turn, able them to work longer. If older generations were able to stay in the workforce longer, our aging society, which people believe may eventually not have a large enough work force, would be able to avoid this presumed

Atul Gawande is a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a well-known writer in the New York Times, a public health innovator and most relevantly the author of Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End. Being Mortal has many messages being conveyed to the readers with the most important being our story to tell at the end of life. Everyone’s life will end, some will go too soon and some will live a long life. No matter how long a life lasts, we all want to be able to say we’ve done something with our lives, a meaningful story to tell. In this book, Gawande describes one of the most challenging parts of his career in medicine.

As the population of older adults are growing, experts are concern that even if there were

On Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande, the author tells a story of Jewel Douglass, who gets a metastatic ovarian cancer. The doctors mention a lot of methods to cure her disease; however, effective methods contain high risk. Surprisingly, she chooses a method that can let her stays at home and enjoys every last moments with her family, even though she can no longer eat.

Some cannot afford this because it is very expensive and some might not even have that kind of money to pay for a home care. Elderly people that cannot afford home care have to rely on the help from family members. Most need help from a caregiver because they cannot take care of themselves. Vision is also a problem for many elderly people. Frequently, they need help getting to places so giving directions is a good way to lead them. Elderly people tend to forget how to do basic things. Walking and going to the bathroom is one of the biggest problems because they are unable to accomplish it independently. Elderly people have assist rails to go to bathrooms and also to get in and out of their bed. Dressing is also a problem because some forget how to dress themselves or are physically unable to dress themselves. They require aid from another person. Those who have difficulty breathing have concentrators in either their house or room if they are in a assisted living home. Oxygen tanks are more useful when an elderly person goes on an outing. Besides experiencing physical needs elderly people also become very emotional.

The elderly is a grown dilemma that is foreseen in the near future that might put a huge wrench in

As far as possible, elderly who are capable, should be encouraged, and if necessary, supported to be engaged in some economically productive manner. Others who are incapable of supporting themselves should be provided with partial or full social welfare grants that at least provide for their basic needs. Families and communities may be encouraged to support the elderly living with them through counseling and local self-governance.

It is necessary to introduce a pension scheme and health care system for the elders. Otherwise demographic transitions would be a financial problem in their families.