Category: Critical Thinking

As the semester has gone on, I have been able to gain a better understanding and perspective on geriatric care and the aging process.  With the Lifebook project/narrative life review especially, I feel like I obtained valuable insight on the progression of aging and just life in general.  I was fascinated to hear the different stories about their life and how they have adapted to older age.  Also, in the classroom the issue of elder abuse was brought to greater light.  As sad as this was to hear about, this provided me with good insight on the issue and how to better detect abuse. 

      Elder abuse is defined as the intentional act or failure to act that causes or creates a risk of harm to an older adult.  When our guest speaker came in and spoke about elder abuse and provided stories/pictures of abuse, it really struck a cord with me.  Having a grandfather who may be requiring nursing home care soon, it upset me to know that he could be at risk for potential abuse.  This was something that really sat with me and for all I know it could happen to someone I know and love.  However, with learning more about elder abuse, I do feel better equipped to combat it.  And in my future practice, it will always be something I monitor for as it is someone’s loved one who is on the line.

      My second insight from this course was having a better understanding of how short life is and how important it is to take care of yourself.  One thing that my grandmother has always prioritized in her life is exercising each day and drinking water.  She always says it is the reason why she can still move as good as she does at almost 80 years old.  Seeing this helped to show me how important nutrition and exercise really is to get the most out of your life.  Which brings me to my final point of how short life is.  Seeing myself almost out of college I can now understand what my parents and grandparents have been telling me.  Each day we have is a gift and our lives are shorter than we may think.  It’s important to take each opportunity we get and to live each day to the fullest.

This semester has brought many challenges through the COVID-19 pandemic. Adjusting to online learning and last second changes in scheduling have been difficult challenges that we all have had to endure. However, with these challenges, I believe that we have have become more resilient and better off in the long run. As nurses we must always be ready for the unexpected. Things happen with patients and we need to be able to think on the fly and take the appropriate action. Our team influence paper has also been a challenge. Having a partner to work on it with was certainly helpful because we were able to work off of each other. Each person contributed to the project in their own way and had their own strengths and ideas which were valuable our proposal. Overall, I felt like I learned what it means to be apart of a team and to contribute to a team. Working through challenges was never easy but being on a team helped us get by them. Lastly, I have learned a lot about nursing research and education. These skills I have learned throughout the semester will help me in my future as a nurse and as student as I progress throughout nursing school.