Taken using Nokia 3200

For the first half of this semester, our clinical rotation took place in a nursing home as part of our Geriatrics class. I enjoyed this part of the course because I like taking care of elderly people -- I just love 'em to bits. Of course, like all age groups, they have their downs... and yes, most of the people I've taken care of these past 6 weeks were sun-downers. Patients with Alzheimer's disease or some form of dementia were assigned to me. I didn't mind it at all although it got me thinking about aging, especially aging in a nursing home. How terribly sad it must be to live your last days in some institution where you know nobody and everything's a whole lot different from what you're used to. How hard it must be for these patients, especially the ones with dementia, to find unfamiliarity and animosity lurking 'round the corners, not knowing where to look for compassion or empathy. Even having a debilitating disease can't be worse than not having someone care (in the truest and sincerest form) for you.

And sometimes the same people who should take care of these patients are the ones hurting them (accidental or otherwise). These patients are under the care (and mercy) of nursing assistants (and even nurses) who couldn't (or wouldn't) give a damn if the prosthesis is in place or if the patient got nearly fractured because of improper turning and positioning. (It just saddens me that some people are being allowed to do these horrendous acts.) Sigh.

Two weeks ago, I had the chance of being assigned to the Alzheimer's unit of this particular nursing home (picture above). One particular resident I observed in the unit was restless that day. According to the charge nurse, he's of the wandering type and can easily get agitated over little things. He walks around the unit, snatching food from other patients and picking up things from the medicine cart. Apprehend him and you're in for a surprise. Anyway, on that particular day, one nursing aide, seeing that they have guests (meaning me and another classmate), decided to impress us by forcing this resident to wear a toy (a backpack with a baby in it) on his back. He then laughed at the resident after successfully doing the deed. Ayun, the resident got agitated. He won't take his meds and even threw it across the room, punched the guy, and swore at everyone. Took a while to calm him down. Tsk, tsk. Now tell me who in their right mind would do such a thing? If it were up to me, that would be the aide's last day in the nursing home. He gave the health profession a bad name, a bad image. Many people have Alzheimer's disease and most of them don't know what's happening to them, much less the world. But this doesn't mean that anyone can have their way with them. On the contrary, as part of the healthcare team, one should show compassion, even if it means not being appreciated.