Did your school discriminate against the elderly? read to find out...

casi, ASN, RN · Mar 17, 2011

Most nursing students start out in nursing homes and TCU's because they are very stable patients.

It was rare in nursing school that I saw patients under 65. They just aren't stuck in healthcare facilities as often.

NurseyPoo7 · Mar 17, 2011

It's true... not only are they usually fairly "stable" just with chronic health conditions.. but most of the patient population is often geriatric.

Student4_life · Mar 17, 2011

I think it is because they are going to be the most patient. Remember wisdom comes with age and with wisdom comes patience. I really dont think there is too much you can do as a NS that would have any relation to a "patient dying soon anyways."

LPNweezy · Mar 17, 2011

It's true... not only are they usually fairly "stable" just with chronic health conditions.. but most of the patient population is often geriatric.

maybe i'm just a conspiracy theorist... but i seriously think there might be some discrimination.

:lol2: :idea: :nurse:

kessadawn, BSN, RN · Mar 17, 2011

My school discriminated the elderly big time. and in the most subtle way, too. Heres how:
I called them the "fall backs". When i first entered my school, they trained us the basics, and we were only allowed to work around and with geriatric people. Pediatrics, younger adults, and teenagers were totally off-limits. For my entire first year of nursing school, taking blood pressures, long sounds, assessments, etc. (totally non invasive and non dangerous procedures) were done on geriatric patients. It was only on my second and final year of nursing school that they let us assess young adults (ages 18-55). And peds? we had a rotation, but we weren't allowed to pass meds or anything nurse like. we were CNAs during the peds rotation.
i am having trouble describing this, i'm not too good with words, so let me give another example of my school doing this: the veterinary program lets first year beginner students work with cattle and farm animals. those are the "Fall backs" then the second year, the school lets them work with exotic animals.
They are clearly doing this because they think the elderly will "just die soon anyway" and if a mistake were to happen, its "not that big of a deal with the elderly." A human being is a human being despite age, anyone else find this disgusting? shame on you, school. SHAME :spbox:

I don't think that is discrimination at all. I think it is a large, stable population and a great place to start honing your assessment skills. The elderly also use a large variety of medications, as a nursing student you can really learn a lot about meds. You don't need to pass meds in peds as a student, there aren't very many, the calculations are very different, and there is a great margin of error if you aren't used to doing it. What you do need to learn in peds is developmental stages and how to interact with them. Sounds like that's just what you did.

I am a little disturbed by the fact that you compare our elderly with large farm animals. Not cool.

elkpark · Mar 17, 2011

I'm really curious about how you figured out this was "clearly" what your school was doing. I've heard some loopy theories in my time, but ...

Nursing students typically start out in LTC/geriatric settings not because they're going to "die soon anyway" :confused: , but because those clients are typically more medically stable, the settings are more relaxed, the emphasis in the early clinicals is on the more basic personal care/ADL type skills, and students are under less pressure and able to spend more time interacting with clients and paying attention to what they're doing. It's more a case of letting students start out in the shallow end of the pool and work their way toward the deep end, if you will, rather than tossing them into the deep end right away.

As for passing meds and doing other "nurse like" tasks in a peds rotation, it is typically (in my experience teaching nursing over the years) the clinical site (hospital/facility) that requires those kinds of limitations on the students, not the school.

My school taught me to treat all clients, regardless of age, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, etc., etc., etc., with respect, courtesy, and the best care I can provide. There was certainly no "discrimination" against the elderly.

Southern Magnolia · Mar 17, 2011

:nuke:

2011NursingStudent · Mar 17, 2011

In our CNA clinicals the seniors loved the attention, they had so much more ADL care from students than they were used to with the regular staff. We sat and filed their nails, did their hair, brushed their teeth, took their blood pressure, etc etc and not one of them seemed bothered, they seemed pleased with the extra attention. There was maybe one senior that didn't want any help from CNAs or students and nobody had any problem w/that.

2011NursingStudent · Mar 17, 2011

Also, in Illinois there is a mandatory number of educational hours that have to be devoted to Alzheimer's, so its possible this is true for other states as well. Obviously those hours can't be fulfilled with peds.

babyNP., APRN · Mar 17, 2011

I don't feel that it's true. We did long-term care first because like others have said, the patients *are* more stable. Adults on a med-surg floor are generally more acute than ltc patients and the floor is generally more fast-paced.

It's very overwhelming, especially for those who had never worked in a health care setting (like myself) to walk onto ANY floor, let alone a fast-paced one for their very first experiene. I was terrified during my first week and having that slow-paced but steady rhythm really helped me out.

My order for nursing school was--long term care, med-surg, mental health, ob/gyn, med-surg, peds, community, and then a practicum.

I must admit--most of my patients were the age of 65, but I'm guessing that had more to do with the fact that my ltc, med-surg, and mental health rotations were all at a VA hospital more than our instructors thought older folks were on their way out of this life...

I really feel like my nursing school set me up very well in that order. The workload became increasingly harder and peaked at my peds rotation. Community was quite a bit easier, but then again, I wouldn't have done as well or have been as useful to the public as if I hadn't had such a strength of other clinical backgrounds first.

leslie :-D · Mar 17, 2011

maybe i'm just a conspiracy theorist... but i seriously think there might be some discrimination.

sorry weezy, but i think you are waaaay off base.

we are a rapidly aging nation.

check out these aging stats.

http://www.aoa.gov/aoaroot/aging_statistics/index.aspx

what better way to get the most out of your education, than to learn in a setting that reflects a growing culture in our country?

this is reality, and as others have, they are a stable and highly viable people, that will serve students wonderfully.

besides, these people ARE the future of nursing, i.e., healthcare is trending towards the community and anything that is outpatient.

who do you think the bulk of your pt loads will be?

i love (Love, LOVE) our elderly and would immediately speak up if i felt they were being wronged.

but i'd bet money that your story, isn't the case at all.

give the old folks, a hug and noogie from me.:redbeathe

leslie