...I have learned so much in the first two weeks of the class that left my having so many A-Ha Moments. I didn’t realize how so many elderly are begin discriminated due to age in the workplace, and how the elderly really need advocates that are willing to speak on their behalf. Now that the elderly are retiring at a later age than they did in the past, which can be connected to the economy as well as to other things. Many of the elderly who continue working begin to receive less and less training on new advancements or programs in the companies or programs. For example, one of my elder circle who is 70 years old and still works around 60 hours a week (by choice rather than necessity). He holds an head manager title, but in the 15 years of begin with the company they have stop sending him to learning conventions or classes, but still sends the younger people. However, they still expect him to know the stuff that was taught at the seminars even though they did not want to waste the money paying for him to be taught the information. I have heard scenarios from friends and family regarding elderly relatives. I realize that the companies think it would be more productive to spend money on advancing the younger employees, but if the older ones are expected to do the same things then they should implement some type of house training where those who attend the seminars teach those that didn’t. With more and more people working to a later age I believe that it is important that the older...
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...Written Assignment #3 1. Explain Erikson's psychosocial model and Levinson's theory as they relate to adulthood. What is successful aging? Erikson is a theorist who focused his work on the psychosocial development of individuals throughout their life. He found interest in social change, cultural diversity and psychological crises through life (Berger, 2008, p. 36). According to his model, Erikson believed that individuals go through eight specific stages of development that help one achieve their ego identity (Hooyman, N. R. & Kiyak, H. A., 2011). In each of these stages, an individual has a major task that is to be accomplished as well as a conflict that requires being resolved. Each of these conflicts is a foundation for the successive stages of this model; therefore, the outcome of the crisis presented infers how the individual will advance to the next stage. Erickson’s concept explained how during development individuals proceed through these various stages as they grow and become more capable of dealing with issues and relate with society overall. The stages of Erikson’s psychosocial model are as follows: Stage I is basic trust vs. mistrust. The goal of this stage is to establish a basic trust of the world via trust of parent(s). Stage II is autonomy vs. shame and doubt. Here the individual is to establish a sense of autonomy and self from the parent and to establish self-control vs. doubt of one’s abilities. Stage III is initiative vs. guilt. Individuals are...
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...As people age the risk factors for disease increase. The growing number of the aging population in the United States has made the health care field take notice and has resulted in increased efforts to learn how to take better care of them. Poor health and disease are the most common when associated with age. The lecture video gave an overview about chapter 4. The professor talked about health and how it impacts the elderly. He talks about the field of gerontology and how there are now physicians who are properly trained to seek and help those who are high in age a lot better than a family practitioner. The professor showed some graphs pertaining to certain groups and the health problems that affect those particular groups. It is also well...
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...Ageism: Old People Can’t Drive In American society, it seems that we treasure youth and either fear or are disappointed to reach old age. Our culture has a big influence on how the elderly are perceived has stereotyped this population, mostly seen through the media. Even in films, TV, books, and magazines old people are often portrayed as frail, weak, klutzy, or indecisive. We should look treat our elderly with respect for the fact that they are more associated with experience, knowledge, and wisdom than a younger population. Ageism describes this discrimination against the old due to misconceptions and ignorance. Every person has their own perceptions of seniors and growing old. As an individual grows up, those perceptions are influenced by family, friends, and any interactions with the elderly. But as this individual gets older, they become more influenced by the media and what other people are telling us. I believe that in my generation, we are becoming more naive about our elders and I see and hear about it all the time. One that I get a lot is their driving capabilities. People say all the time that old people can’t drive when, in fact, I see younger people getting in accidents more than our seniors. They have been driving much longer than we have and maybe have more experienced skills in driving. In the advertisement I have chose, it reads, “John McCain is old. Do you want him driving your country?” There is picture of John McCain and an elderly lady driving and...
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...In 44 B.C., Cicero argued how "Old men...as they become less capable of physical exertion, should redouble their intellectual activity, and their principal occupation should be to assist the young, their friends, and above all their country with their wisdom and sagacity." (1) As a culture this should have been the law of the land, however over the last six decades or so America’s elderly population have not only been stripped off their money, but also of their social standing, political rights and the level of care they are given. If you consider that in the day and age in which we live a man who is retiring at the age of 65 is maybe able to retire, maybe not, and after probably around 40 years of being part of the work force the amount of money he will be able to retire with is less than a third of what he would have retired with in 1940 when the life expectancy was much longer as well. (1) The first national Social Security was implemented in 1883 and the “magic-age” of 65 was determined as the age when a person should be eligible to no longer work and be taken care by his or her government. It is important to address here that the average life expectancy at this time was only 37 years old. So from its inception only about 54% of men and 62% of women even lived to be the age of 65 and now 130 years later the average American lives to be nearly 78 with some people living way past there. This longevity of life has put quite a damper on the government’s plans. (2) Over...
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...MODULE 1: SOCIAL GERONTOLOGY - OVERVIEW/LEARNING OUTCOMES/ KEY TERMS CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEW In this first section, you are presented with an introduction to the field of gerontology, which addresses the social, psychological, physical, and demographic concerns related to aging and introduces the role of the person-environment perspective to study issues relevant to aging. Due to an increasing interest in understanding the process of aging and the changing demographics of the world, including the United States, gerontology is a growing field. More and more people in the U.S. are living beyond age 65 or even 85, with these "oldest old" as the fastest growing age group among Americans. The population of older adults in the U.S. is also becoming more ethnically diverse, although elders of color generally have a lower life expectancy due to health and economic disparities. The growth of the older population has raised questions as to whether our nation is prepared to meet the health care and social service needs of this group and their families. Given the growth in the number of older adults, society needs to address the public policy issues related to aging, including assessing the appropriateness of current policy and exploring innovative policy to meet the changing needs of older adults. Researching policy and social issues related to aging poses some challenges to gerontologists. The important question centers on being able to distinguish age differences from cohort differences...
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...A Complete Patient Assessment Susan Eisen RN Ramapo College of New Jersey A 63 y/o African American female presents to the emergency room complaining of shortness of breath worsening over the past week. Patient states she becomes severely short of breath while preforming everyday activities and has noticed that her legs have been “getting bigger”. Patient had been sleeping with 3-4 pillows a night for comfort and occasionally sleeping in a recliner. Patient states this evening she got up to use the restroom and had a sudden onset of severe shortness of breath. Felt as though she wasn’t moving any air. Patient called 911. The paramedics on scene established IV access and medicated patient with 40 of furosemide and Nitroglycerin sublingual 0.4 mg times 3 doses. Patient was placed on CPAP and brought to the ER. Upon arrival CPAP was continued, a nitroglycerin infusion was started at 20mcg/min. Additional IV access was established and labs were obtained. Stat EKG and Chest Xray were completed. Additional dose of furosemide 80mg was administered IV push and patient was provided with an indwelling foley catheter which is draining clear yellow urine. Past Medical History is significant for Hypertension, Diabetes, Congestive Heart failure, and Atrial Fibrillation with two unsuccessful cardioversions. Medications: Patient currently taking Furosemide, Lisinopril, Digoxin, ...
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...Felicia Mcdonald Gero 2400 TTH-12:30 Carol Jenkins November 15, 2012 Volunteer Paper I recently had the honor of completing my volunteer hours at Cypress Glen Retirement Community. This facility is located in Greenville, NC off of 100 Hickory Street. Cypress Glen was established in 1987. This facility has several levels of quality care ranging from long term, rehabilitative skilled nursing, assisted living and on-site dementia care. The employees take pride in distinguishing this facility from a nursing home. They immediately highlighted the fact that Cypress glen offers independent living apartments, and cottages, assisted living apartments, and a memory care cottage with 12-rooms for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia related illnesses. The facility is filled with numerous amenities such as an indoor swimming pool, a full library, a hair salon, and a calm room. The residents are a family and depend on one another for support and conversation. Each room is equipped with its own bathroom. Each room comes fully furniture. They are encouraged to decorate their rooms to their liking to reflect their individual personalities. Cypress Glen is a faith-based facility sponsored by United Methodist Retirement Homes Inc. A chapel is provided to enrich their religious practices when needed throughout the day. They are given monthly entertainment options, such as bingo and arts and crafts. They celebrate various holidays throughout the facility as well...
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...Gerontology Assessment Hannah Forbes Gerontology 06/27/2014 The goal of this assessment is to look in to the life of Sarah Halbert, my grandmother on my mom’s side. She is 79 years-old, and lives with her husband Robert and her sister Lois, whom she takes care of. She is in good physical shape and does everything on her own, but her short term memory is starting to go downhill. She was just diagnosed with COPD not too long ago due to her closet smoking that she thinks no one knows about and she just had a clot removed from her neck vein, but other than that she has no other limitations. In this assessment, I want to learn more about her life and, also make some suggestions to her on things that can improve her quality of life. While spending four days with my grandmother we went through a serious of questions, recommendations, and improved on some small changes around the house and in her daily life. We first talked about her view on health and wellness. She started off by saying that, a healthy attitude is the key to accepting changes in cognitive and physical function. She also said when she was younger she defined health and wellness as the ability to be at an ideal weight, exercise daily, and having no physical limitations. She says as you age so does your mind set on health and wellness. Her idea of health and wellness now is just being able to do everything she needs to do without help. She stated, “I am 79 years old and a lot of people do not make it to my...
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...The incredible detail of what a Gerontologist Specialist performs. From the course text, by Jill Quadagno, Aging and the Life Course An Introduction to Social Gerontology, the diverse and detailed aspects of the profession leaves researchers with a great number of avenues in the Gerontologist field. Perhaps the most important, among the tasks of a Gerontologist Specialist, are in the instructive learning areas of the field (Quadagno: 20). Guiding not only elderly individuals through their final days, but their families as well, offering the different services applicable to the dying and family relieves unknown questions of which step to proceed with first, second, and so forth. Also in the area of Gerontology, are the students learning...
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...Judith Andre HCS-548 Foundations of Gerontology Professor: Jeanette Adams 01/08/2015 Gerontology is the study of aging and has made tremendous progress over the years. In the past, researchers have looked for a single theory that explained aging. There are two main groups of aging theories. The first group states that aging is natural and programmed into the body, while the second group of aging theories say that aging is a result of damage which is accumulated over time. In the end, aging is a complex interaction of genetics, chemistry, physiology and behavior. By understanding and describing how we age, researchers have developed several different theories of aging. The two major theories that will be explain in this paper will be the activity and disengagement theory in which they both will show how important their roles play in the process of aging in older adults. Disengagement and Activity Theory Disengagement theory is the most influential theories in gerontology, because it views aging as a process of mutual withdrawal in which older adults voluntarily slow down by retiring, as expected by society. Proponents of disengagement theory hold that mutual social withdrawal benefits both individuals and society. Activity theory sees a positive correlation between keeping active and aging well. (According to the Henry,2011) proponents of activity theory hold that mutual social withdrawal runs counter to traditional American ideals of activity, energy, and industry...
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...Analyzing the Psychology of Aging Jason Russ Analyzing the Psychology of Aging Not only is the country’s population growing, it is aging as well. Older adults are the fastest growing population on the charts right now. There is no point and time when a person overnight just becomes “old.” Obviously everyone knows we simply just age; it comes with getting older. This thing called “aging” happens to everyone at a different rate. In this particular essay I will briefly be discussing five parts of psychology aging, and cognitive functioning in the elderly. Psychology of Aging, Theories of Aging, the Physical Dimension, the Cognitive Dimension, and the Social Dimension. The psychology of aging focuses on the behavioral changes which occur during the normal aging process. Age differences in learning, memory, perceptual and intellectual abilities will be investigated. In addition, emphasis will be placed on the neural correlates and cognitive consequences of disorders of aging such as Alzheimers disease(Belsky, J.1999). Aging introduces a number of psychological and physical changes in the human body and engaged researchers in this field of study. The growing population in industrialized countries has become a serious issue in the 21st century. Life expectancy has increased significantly over the 20th century. For example, in 1900 a baby born in an industrialized country would usually live to between 47 and 55, while a baby born in the 21st century would be expected to...
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...Diabetes and the Older Adult Christine McDermott Metro State University of Denver DIABETES AND THE OLDER ADULT General description of the Gerontological care issue The ageing population is unusually increasing in the history of humanity. With increase in number of the older persons, there is a decline in that of the younger people and it is estimated that by 2050 the percentage of the older persons would have increase by 10% from the current 15% (Cisneros & Hickie, 2012). These changes come with major challenges not only to the health sector, but also to the pension and welfare system in both the first and second world countries. Diabetes mostly among the old people is continuously being diagnosed in an epidemic magnitude. It is estimated to affect 592 million people in 2035 compared to 382 million people in 2013 (Guariguata et. al 2012). Type 2 diabetes is mainly more prevalent in the ageing population compared to type one diabetes, which affects mostly the going thus creating burden to the society as the sick mostly depend on the society. China is the leading country with the largest number of people with diabetes, followed by India, the United States, brazil and Mexico in the fifth position. These statistics bring about a considerable concern for the national healthcare system which come with various challenges in provision of focused diabetes management to the ageing population. This problem becomes complex by the different modalities of managing diabetic patients in...
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...Suicide Among the Elderly: Symptoms that are ignored University of California, Irvine Professor Webster P117D November 27, 2007 Suicide among the elderly: Symptoms that are ignored More than 30,000 Americans every year commit suicide. A suicide happens every eighteen minutes. The highest rate of suicide of any age group occurs among the elderly. The elderly make up 12.6% of the population, yet they account for almost 18% of all the suicides. An elderly suicide occurs every 100 minutes. Suicide ranks as the eighth leading cause of death among those aged 65 and older (Noffsinger, Knoll). Firearms consist of the main method in which the elderly take their lives. The next two in line are overdosing and suffocation. White men over the age of 85 are at the greatest risk of all groups. In 1999, the suicide rate for these individuals was 59.6 per 100,000. 84% of all elderly suicides are men. The rate of suicide for women declines after age 60. Although older adults may attempt suicide less often, they have a higher completion rate. Contrary to popular belief, only about 2-4% of suicide victims were diagnosed with terminal illness at the time of their demise. 80% of all elderly victims of suicide have seen a primary care physician within six months of their suicide. Why is it that the suicide rates for older adults are much higher than every other age group? Depression is a key factor for the rates of suicide in the elderly. Depression is...
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...to properly care for the baby boomers and current aging groups will need highly trained, educated caretakers. The amount of those studying for gerontology related careers is on the decline. Even graduated nursing, medical, and pharmaceutical students did not spend as much time or had a great deal of experience in this field. Also, the intensity of care the elderly need differs greatly from those who do not suffer from chronic illness or psychological problems related to their condition. Older patients may need more care related to a disease that cannot be managed on their own, or they may need assistance doing daily activities because they’re no longer able to. Caring, understand, and compassionate workers will effectively fill the spots of those who care for the elderly that can no longer do so for themselves. Lastly, having enough money to cover care costs may cause problems for the elderly. Medicare and Medicaid, for example, cover some costs, but those not covered are expected to come out-of-pocket from the patient. If that patient never saved money for future health problems, they may not have the funds to do this. Instead, other family members or friends might have to help them take care of bills. The future of healthcare and the elderly population will see many challenges. Implementing and requiring more classes toward gerontology may solve...
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