� People often ask me how I can stand working in geriatrics.
� I tell them that I LOVE working in geriatrics.
� My office is on the Alzheimer's unit. Which means I get visited quite frequently by residents in varying stages of dementia. Sometimes they come to shop(lift), sometimes to talk (although most of the time their speech is incomprehensible), sometimes to sit quietly and just be.
� Down the hall, the sights/sounds are always different. One resident may be standing at the tray cart yelling at a piece of lemon meringue pie. RL is looking very nice because one of the CNAs with a special talent has done her hair and makeup to perfection. Another CNA is comforting someone who is looking for their mother.
� The residents, no matter what their state of mind and/or cognitive ability, still have the same basic human needs we all do. Loved, sheltered, fed, protected. Made to feel that despite their myriad of ailments, they can still contribute in some way to make their continued existence valuable.
� I've included some thoughts about "the home" to give you an idea what it's like, and what we do. Below is a link button for more information, including how to report elder abuse.
� I have been working with elders for a number of years now. The following comments/opinions are mine and mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or attitudes of my employer or of my fire department.
If only even the mildly
confused would really understand all those ethical dilemmas that we
have high-teched our way into. �No longer allowed to die of "the old
man's friend" (pneumonia), many elders are treated time and time again for
things that would have caused death even ten years ago. �I wish there
were an easy, nicely packaged answer to a family member's question "What
should I do?"
I wish health care
professionals who worked in areas other than geriatrics would visit us and
spend some time learning with we do. �It's more difficult than most
think - and equally as stressful. �
We love our residents
where I work.�Many are related to staff, or cared for staff members
when they were young. Which makes it somewhat different than many long term
care facilities, because we have a great number of involved family members.
However, I wish there were more understanding on the part of some people
for those family members who, for whatever reason, can't or don't visit.
�We never know what went on in someone else's life - not really. And
that sweet little old lady who's so kind to you may have been a tyrant at
home and impossible to live with.
You need only to see
the pain in a daughter or sons' eyes when their father or mother recognizes
staff but has no clue who their child is to understand why the pain might
just be unbearable visit after visit.
I wish we had less paperwork,
less regulations that are needless, and more time to sit and chat. �With
the dowser, the retired chemist, the retired principal, the mother of 15.
�What alot they have to teach us!
I wish more could see
the joy on the face of the woman who's now over 100 when she was told that
she had good looking legs for a woman her age. �She called people into
her room several times that day, only to say "They say I have good looking
legs." With a BIG grin on her face. �It took so little to make her happy.
She will, God willing, be 106 in May.
I wish there were easy
answers to euthanasia, simple ways to explain living wills and advanced
directives so our elders truely understood what happens during resuscitation.
I wish more people were
comfortable with confronting death and dying issues. �Many of us in
long term care are very uncomfortable with these, hiding very nicely
behind our professional masks, our patent responses to family members questions.
When, and because of
whom, did it become unprofessional to cry for the dead person for whom you've
provided care and love and companionship for the last few years? �Why
is it perceived as wrong to grieve for someone with whom you've spent so
much time? �(I don't believe it is wrong, and I encourage the students
I teach and the staff as well to let the family know their loved one will
be missed very much.)
When did the elders in
our society become what is thought of by some as a "disposable commodity"?
I wish CNAs were not
perceived by so many as people who "only take care of the personal needs"
of our residents/patients. �The work they do is essential. They know
the residents best, and they are grossly underpaid for what they do and what
they are now responsible for. �They provide a great deal of the nurturing
and support for our elders in this country and largely go unrecognized for
it.
And when an elder dies,
leaving an adult child or children, we need to remember also that there is
no age limit on becoming an orphan.
We need to learn how
to comfort those elders who have just buried a child.�Children (no matter
what the age) are not supposed to die.
We need more visits by
the children, and the pets. Those joys are not limited by age, and no matter
how confused and disoriented, the kids and the animals somehow always manage
to bring a smile.
We need to remember that
we will also some day be elderly. �Are you scared at that thought?
�Maybe you should think about that - the next time you deal with someone
who's elderly.
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