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Discussion

Shaking my head

Discussion with a fellow pre-nursing student:

I said, "I'd love to be a geriatrics nurse."

She goes "gross."

I said "excuse me? "

She goes "yeah. Old people are gross."

I said "they do the same things that you do!"

She goes "I'd rather be a pediatrics nurse."

I said "they do the same thing!"

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    • Featured Replies

    Quite a common reaction unfortunately! What does your nursing program do to combat ageism?

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    Well I think babies can be 'gross' too and have no desire to work with peds, ever. I love working with the elderly and I absolutely do not find them gross at all.

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    Had a smarty-pants thought - you should've asked "and how gross old is your grandmom and grandpop???

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    • Expert

    In general, the elderly population is devalued in American society, so I do not find it particularly shocking that the friend believes old people are 'gross.' However, I am somewhat saddened at her sentiments. Is she cognizant that she will likely grow old someday?

    Tremendous value is ascribed to the lives of infants, children and young adults. However, the value of older people is often diminished by the society in which we live. The bias toward fleeting youth can be seen when we tell members of the public where we work. For instance, strangers and fellow colleagues are thrilled for the nurse who works in postpartum, pediatrics, trauma, the emergency department, reproductive medicine, the NICU, PICU, labor & delivery, or other specialties where many younger patients are seen.

    Conversely, people respond with less enthusiasm when they discover we work in an area where mostly elderly patients are seen, such as long term care, oncology, acute rehab, geri-psych, hospice, assisted living, or adult day care.

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    pre nursing school: the two areas i knew i would never work in: geriatrics, pediatrics

    now: the two areas i have the most experience in: geriatrics, pediatrics

    just say,"we'll see how you feel about that in a couple of years"

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    Not sure what she considers to be gross. We all **** and poo. People in general are gross if you really think about it. Has she not paid attention to how many people walk out of a bathroom without washing their hands? Or how many people sneeze into their hands and then touch everything around them?

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    I've experienced this "oh, you work in a nursing home " mindset also. Some people act as if what we do at our jobs is less important then an ED nurse, labor/delivery nurse or a pediatrics nurse.

    It's funny how you feel that you should defend the type of nursing you do.

    Personally, I wouldn't work pediatrics for all the money in the world.

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    I love old people! They have so much to tell and no one takes the time to listen. It's sad. Depression is a huge problem in the elderly.

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    I wonder of whom she thinks our population is comprised. You're a nurse? Welcome to geriatrics.

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    I am ashamed to say that I too also had that kind of attitude several years ago. Then I got a job in a nursing home (of all places) while going to nursing school. I recently graduated, passed NCLEX & returned to the same nursing home as an RN on their Acute Care floor. I couldn't imagine working anywhere else! rnMomm - you are so right about our older patients having so much to tell us. I love to hear their stories and have learned so much over the years from them sharing their life experiences. And SuesquatchRN - I recently watched a documentary and the nurses all spoke about geriatrics being our "new" patient population. This is who we are going to be taking care of :up:

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    • Author
    Not sure what she considers to be gross. We all **** and poo. People in general are gross if you really think about it. Has she not paid attention to how many people walk out of a bathroom without washing their hands? Or how many people sneeze into their hands and then touch everything around them?

    I have witnessed herself not wash her hands after using the restroom and go straight into the kitchen.

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    • Author
    I wonder of whom she thinks our population is comprised. You're a nurse? Welcome to geriatrics.

    Clap clap clap!

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