Gerontology Interview Reflection

Therefore as the elderly continue to adapt to their changing environment, they can maintain both the social and behavioral circumstances that they may face. The Labeling Theory deals with the interaction between the elderly in their social circle and how they are perceived versus the interaction of others and how they perceive the elderly (Hooyman & Kiyak, 2011). As a nursing caregiver, there are discrepancies with both theories, with the concept of continuity with the aging adult, both biological and environmental factors can cause changes in the behavior of the elderly. Factors such as medication, diseases such as Alzheimers, strokes, and the stress of leaving their familiar home to move in with a loved one can cause changes in their life which are different from what they have always maintained throughout their earlier years. Although the elderly do adapt to change, some changes in their life can cause their behavior to change such as the death of a loved one, losing their independence, or suffering a devastating disease. Therefore, as a caregiver, we need to be both aware and sensitive to the needs

The key issues that I am going to discuss from my reflection are disempowerment due to a person’s age where either their family or care giver answer on behalf of the elderly patient and deny the patient of their own voice. Emotional problems are a common in the elderly and this particular psychological aspect often goes unnoticed.

Older people also suffer from more chronic health conditions than their younger counterparts, making their care much more involved and complex. For this reason, many health care professionals develop negative attitudes towards providing care for elderly. Their ageist attitudes can be expressed and experienced as microaggressions, making elders hesitant to seek and follow medical advice. Interestingly, nurses view working with elderly patients in a much more positive light. It is postulated that this is because the mission of nursing includes caring for people rather than seeking to cure them (Chrisler, Barney & Palatino, 2016).

After learning of this opportunity to interview an elderly adult, I already had a candidate in mind. S.F. is the grandfather of my boyfriend and this was the perfect opportunity to learn more about his family roots. It made for an easier interview because I was able establish more intimate connections by interviewing the grandfather of someone so close to me. S.F. is an 80 year old Caucasian male living with his wife of 59 years in Mineral Wells, Texas. Born in Brazos, Texas, he is the middle

Because of “the baby boomer generation” is reaching 65 years old, the elderly population has increased since 2010; consequently, it is said that the older population will continue to grow until 2030 (Mauk, 2014, p. 30). Understanding what are normal or abnormal in aging as well as people’s view toward aging are extremely important for us, as health professionals, since the majority of people who need medical assistance would be those elderly. The movie “Cocoon” is describing several gerontological perspectives and issues, which are useful to learn the necessary points for developing nursing care plans of older adults.

Ed is 77-year-old White heterosexual man who is in good health and lives in the Niles area of Fremont, California with his wife, Laura, and eldest son Michael. Ed strongly identifies as Irish-Catholic and he and Laura raised their family in an Irish-Catholic household. I selected Ed as my interviewee because he lives in my neighborhood and is good friends with my neighbor’s father. The two degrees of separation between us are gender, ethnicity/cultural identity, as well as socioeconomic status (he is an upper middle class retiree).

The lifespan interview was conducted 70 years of age married black female whom I will be calling Mrs. D. The purpose was to document the subject’s lifespan history with recollections of important or significant events in her development. Mrs. D is a native of McIntosh, Alabama. She was born to a Mr. and Mrs. Hiram P. Reed Sr. on the 13th of December in 1967 in McIntosh Alabama. She has five siblings 4 brothers and two sisters. She has 6 children three boys and three girls with one son being descent. This interview was conducted on a live face-to-face webcam so that Mrs. D would feel much more comfortable.

The humanity of aging is a concept sometimes hard to grasp. Understanding why we are

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).

The last four years of school at University of Nebraska Lincoln have given me a solid foundation of everything academic, including learning theories, concepts, and ideas regarding the best approach to take when it comes to working with children, youth and families. Being a non-traditional student has given me the rare opportunity to integrate knowledge learned in the classroom with previous work experience, which has benefited me professionally while working with the elderly at my internship; adult day services program and will go on to benefit me in my chosen career. Courses in child, youth, and family studies started me down a particular path career wise, but I soon took a detour once I attended my first Gerontology class; Intro to Gerontology, at which point I found myself traveling down a new career path, one where I would end up working with the elderly. All the courses that I have taken have impacted how I think, my beliefs, and values both as a professional, as well as personally, but a few of these courses have had more of a bearing on my professional philosophy when it comes to how I will approach, help and support my clients, these courses include child, youth & family, gerontology, and

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.

This essay is a discussion about my experience during the first two weeks of my clinical placement in an older adult ward. My experiences will be demonstrated using the various nursing skills acquired thus far. The reflective account used is adopted from the work of Driscoll (2007) which splits the essay into three segments namely a) what happened, b) so what, (what were my feelings, what was good and what was wrong about the experience, c) now what, (if I find myself in that same situation what would I do differently).

Aging happens to everyone, a part of life that is unavoidable. Over the years many theories on aging have been developed and studied. Some theories are biological and some are psychosocial. This paper will depict a clinical situation, encompass the biological theory of aging, the wear and tear theory, and how it relates to the situation and the interactions employed by the Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS).

Due to my four years’ experience working as a Nursing Assistant in a nursing home, inpatient rehabilitation facility and acute care facility, I considered myself to be well knowledgeable about the geriatric population. I was in for quite a surprise, the Older Adult Review allowed me to apply my learning from the textbooks and understand aging from a personal perspective. I have always feared to get older and ultimately dying but Mary helped ease my worries by commenting that although aging is hard and unexpected, one must always remain positive and ultimately thank God for all he has given us (Mary, personal communication, December 2, 2017). Being that Mary was a frequent patient under my care, I also assumed I knew very much about her, however, it was interesting to

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