Gerontology : An Umbrella Term Covering A Wide Range Of Professions

Gerontology as a field of scientific study can be traced back to the late 1800s; a time when research primarily focused on the negative attributes of aging, such as health decline. It wasn 't until the introduction of social gerontology in 1983 that researchers began to more rigorously study the psychological and social aspects of aging. In recognizing that “successful aging depends not just on the prevention of disease and disability, but also on the attainment of peak physical and psychological functioning,” (Quadagno,

Late Adulthood is a time in people’s lives when they come to terms with their lives and reevaluate what they have done or accomplished in the lieu of what they still would like to accomplish for the remainder of their lives. During this stage of life adults around the ages of 65 begin to experience a variety of changes in their physical appearance and a decline in their health. The process of aging in an individual occurs at different speeds and during this stage older adults are being treated as second-class citizens especially by younger adults. The skin begins to wrinkle at an

According to Statistics Canada, aging population has steadily increased since the mid-1960. The age of 65 and older comprised 15.7% of the country’s population. Promoting health in these aging population is very crucial to minimise the severity of health complications that might occur in the long run. Gerontological Nursing involves the care of aging people and emphasize the promotion of the highest possible quality of life and wellness throughout the lifespan (Eliopoulos, c2014 p73). Aging people need Gerontological Nurses who are knowledgeable and willing to promote health and optimum quality of life with the consideration of their core needs such as physiological balance, connection and gratification (Eliopoulos, c2014 p78).

Two occupations in which you should have knowledge of aging would be a doctor and a psychologist. I think that both these job require knowledge of aging because they are used throughout our whole life and different aliments can affect us at different ages in life. A doctor should have knowledge of an older person and their physical and mental issues because it can be the difference between deciding to do a surgery or not. A psychologist should have knowledge of older folks mental issues so that they can decide what the older person is going through at that age such as Alzheimer’s. I also feel that these are two very important jobs because they both deal with health issues and they can help figure out what is wrong and help, that’s why they should have knowledge of issues that can affect people at different ages.

It is not easy to come up with a working definition of aging; different academics around the world defined ‘aging’ from different perspectives. Based on the collected information I have, I define aging –a multidimensional process of physiological, mental and social changes that occurred over the course of life. Though it is beyond human control, aging experiences may vary between individuals. “In the developed world, chronological time plays a paramount role. The age of 60 or 65, roughly equivalent to retirement ages in most developed countries is said to be the beginning of old age. In many parts of the developing world, chronological time has little or no importance in the meaning of old age. Other socially constructed meanings of age are more significant such as the roles assigned to older people; in some cases it is the loss of roles accompanying physical decline which is significant in defining old age. Thus, in contrast to the chronological milestones which mark life stages in the developed world, old age in many developing countries is seen to begin at the point when active contribution is no longer possible." (Gorman, 2000)

Nathan Stall, a geriatrician from Western University in London, Ontario, sad that the process should begin with the eradication of ageism with no tolerance for those who treat elders with discrimination as they would be reprimanded for prejudicing based on gender, race, religion or sexuality. The doctor laments how elders are treated as a second rate patients (Nathan Stall, 2012). As said by Samir Sinha, head of geriatrics at Mount Sinai Hospital, Canada needs more geriatricians

Aging is a universal phenomenon and humans are no exception. Gerontology deals with the psychological, social and biological aspects of aging process. A recent study shows that people aged 85 years and older are expected to augment from 5.3 million people to 21 million as the world reach 2050. In today’s world Gerontology has an enormous role to play so that the senior citizens could be analyzed and their needs may be addressed with compassion and empathy.

It is important to understand that patients have been experiencing aging bias for a very long time. It is also evident in the medical profession as well, and one needs to do more to ensure that everyone is treated fairly especially the elderly patients. The elderly patients need to treat with the utmost respect and dignity. One needs to understand that the elderly are the ones who pave the way for the younger generation. Therefore, it is important that one takes the time out of their busy assignments to listen to what the older patients have to say and respond to them in an appropriate manner. This paper will discuss how aging has impact one nursing practice, aging bias that one has witnessed during their nursing practice, and a community plan to discuss aging bias.

With the population of adults 65 and over steadily climbing, medical professionals and the healthcare system are struggling to keep up. One major issue concerning the healthcare system is that it is not set up properly provide care for these older adults. The physicians today, who regularly see patients, focus mainly has been; diagnose—usually in a 15-20 minute office visit, treat, and cure. Many of these senior citizens have multiple chronic illnesses or diseases, which require time to manage and treat. The problem is that they may not be able to explain what the real problem to a doctor in that time.

Social aging is referring to the changes in individual’s roles and relationship in the society as they age. There are many different theories concerning sociological aging. Social theories on aging examine the relationship between individual experiences and social institutions e.g., aging and retirement; aging and institutional care; aging and government policy etc (Barkan 2012). All have limitations, and some can be considered more than others when attempting to understand social changes in aging. Also individuals move through life surrounded by social support system. Some theories of aging such as, role theory, activity theory, modernization, etc. consist of different ways older adults transition through life such as, networks of relatives, friends, and organization that help provide emotional support and help in managing activities in daily living.

Throughout this semester we have come across many psychological and social theories. From Vaillant’s aging well, to Erikson’s life stages, to Leont’ev’s activity theory, there is a lot to learn and to understand. For the purpose of this paper, I am going to focus on the Activity Theory of aging. After some thorough research on this topic I was able to come up with some great information about

Educational programs of service providers, including counseling, should train the doctors, counselors, social workers of tomorrow to deal with the special needs of elderly clients. In the article Competencies, Credentialing, and Standards for Gerontological Counselors: Implications for Counselor Education, Myers (1992) suggested that with such a shift in demographics, it is conceivable that “all counselors, regardless of work setting, will encounter older persons or families of older persons among their clientele” (par. 2). Proper training by educational institutions will greatly effect and determine the quality of care the elderly will receive.

Knowing and having an understanding of what ageing stands for, remains an important step, growing-up or growing older and ageism are theories about older individuals. Ageism includes preconceptions that elderly are categorized for their age and perceived as weak, and incapable of performing tasks and needy of others (Quadagno, 2014). Another view about elderly individuals is the way they are looked down on by the younger society, i.e. elderly are not as intelligent as their younger competitive working force. People fear what they do not know and do not understand. Age transpires as something that must be lived through in order to understand what ageing means; looking back on one’s life and seeing accomplishments made,

One of the greatest challenges of the twenty first century will be the tremendous increase in the number of older adults throughout the world. Elderly people are the most rapidly increasing age group in Canada. In 2000 there was about 3.8 million Canadians were 65 years older. Statistics of Canada projects that by 2021, it will get doubled (Hick S., 2010, p.270). It is sure that this demographic trend will affect most part of our society, especially the health care needs and the delivery of health services. There will be a huge increase in the issues that affect the older Canadians. It is important that future health care professionals especially the social Service workers should be prepared to meet the needs of the increasing aging population across the globe. This paper examines the main problems faced by senior population in Canada, the different social work theories related to ageism and the different roles, values, knowledge and responsibilities needed for gerontological social work practice.

Aging, in general, refers to changes that take place in the organism throughout the life span- good, bad, and neutral (Hooyman and Kiyak, 6). Usually, someone between the age sixty-five and older is referred to as “old person.” During my orientation, pre-internship interview and internship hours I have been able to make a lot of connections between this course and my observations. I have been able to walk the facility and freely speak with some of the residents. I was able to meet the oldest resident of the facility. She was 102 years old. There are also some young residents in the facility who are in their 40’s. The age range