1. Running Head: Gerontology Reflection 1
Gerontology Reflection
Desiree Ferwalt
NUR 3383: Gerontology
20 February 2012

2. Gerontology Reflection 2
Gerontology Reflection
My feelings about older people are constantly changing and complex. There are older
family members that I love and care deeply for. I can not imagine my family without my
grandmother. It always scares me when any of my family members get sick but especially my
grandmother since she always seems to be pretty bad off. Older patients in the hospital I find
compassion for. So many of the older people are chronically ill or starting to lose there mental
facilities. They are usually are barely living to make ends meet financially. But then there are
older ladies and gentlemen out in public that can cause me great aggravation. There are many
little things that sometimes bug me. I sometimes find myself growing irritated at older people
driving slowly on the road or taking up the entire sidewalk while shuffling slowly down it. I
realize that this is mostly my own issues about being to much in a hurry and expecting everyone
else to be like that. One feeling that I have about older people is fear that one day I will be like
them. It is scary to think that as you grow older you slowly lose control of your body and mind
until one day you don’t wake up.
Mattering on who I am around will determine whether I am comfortable or
uncomfortable around them. Older family members are who I am most comfortable with. These
are people I was raised with. I was surrounded by these people with every Christmas,
Thanksgiving, and Easter dinners and family barbeques. My grandmothers babysat me when I
was little. When in the hospital the most patients I care for I feel some degree of comfort around
them. These are people under my care and depend on me for their well being. Because of this
being uncomfortable with them could affect the care I give so I try to make myself as
comfortable with these older gentlemen and ladies as possible. When in public I am relatively
comfortable with the older population as long as they don’t directly affect me. Where I do get

3. Gerontology Reflection 3
uncomfortable with older people when they mentally unstable or threat to myself, others, or
themselves in public.
I think a Christian nurses’ view of aging and death should be viewed as a continuation of
life after death. It is a natural part of life and the only certain thing that is guaranteed to happen
to a person. As a Christian I know that it is God plan for a person to live, age, die and join the
heavenly home set aside for us. Though I know that it is God’s plan for a person to age and to
eventually leave this earth through death it is a scary thought that I have to pray over. As a
Christian and a nurse it is our duty to help preserve and improve others lives as it lies within our
power.
This course has changed my perspective on nursing care for the geriatric population. It
has better helped me understand the older population. I assessed my geriatric knowledge in week
one. This course reinforced not to use geriatric stereotypes when approaching and caring an older
person. It is hard sometimes not to fall back onto these old stereotypes. Next in week two I
looked and learned aging theories that affect our populations. I also learned thoroughly what it is
required in Missouri for mandated reporting. This is an important piece of knowledge working in
the health care field. Week three was all about the biological changes that affect our elderly
population and how medications play a role in this. Looking at medications you can see how
sometimes in treating an issue they can cause a different problem. I also interviewed an older
adult. It was interesting to here this woman’s long story. Also as nurses we sometimes only see
patients as a problem that needs fixed instead of as a human being who has complex feelings.
Finally in week four I learned about health care management. The older population has a lot of
chronic conditions that aren’t just an easy fix but a continuation of care.

4. Gerontology Reflection 4
I anticipate changing my practice based on the learning in this course. This course has
given me a better understanding of the geriatric community. I will take this knowledge and apply
it too my practice. I plan on taking care of a elderly patient’s “whole” body.