NSG 4067 Wellness in Older Adults Gerontological Nursing Response

NSG 4067 Wellness in Older Adults Gerontological Nursing Response

Sample Answer for NSG 4067 Wellness in Older Adults Gerontological Nursing Response Included

A Sample Answer For the Assignment: NSG 4067 Wellness in Older Adults Gerontological Nursing Response

Title:  NSG 4067 Wellness in Older Adults Gerontological Nursing Response

Description

1. Aging is definitely a natural progression that we as humans cannot escape especially in physiological terms. However, I feel individuals age differently. When I think of an elderly individual it is not solely based on a chronological number. I associate being elderly with surpassing middle- age and looking forward to retirement. I also identify being elderly with such words as wise, knowledgeable, experienced, seasoned, and in some cases, being dependent on others. I think a person becomes elderly when they can no longer do for themselves, not when they reach the age of 65 and start collecting government benefits. There are many older adults past the age of 65 who are thriving and living independently without assistance.

I personally find older people fascinating. For example, my grandmother was the epitome of grace and elegance. She always shared such riveting stories of her life and lived independently up until the age of 84. Older people are what I consider to be a staple to life lessons and provide a pathway of roads traveled. “Despite the common perception that older adulthood is an extended period of declining health and functioning, conceptualizations of aging are broadening (Miller, 2018 p. 2).”

All elderly people are not the same. Some are active, some experience dementia, and some may suffer from a debilitating condition. My aunt who is 91 walks 2 miles every morning, is widowed and currently lives alone. She is considered to be a very strong matriarch in our family since my mother is no longer living. She is a retired educator and volunteered at our local children’s hospital before COVID-19. She is a breast cancer survivor and considers her faith in GOD to be key to her endurance. Her philosophy has always been “Never worry about things you can’t change, instead focus on the things you can!”

NSG 4067 Wellness in Older Adults Gerontological Nursing Response Reference

Miller, C.A. (2018). Nursing for Wellness in Older Adults (8^th ed.). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins

2. When do you think a person becomes elderly?
What do you think of older people?
Are they active, senile, debilitated, etc.?
Provide a description of an elderly person that you know.

A Sample Answer 2 For the Assignment: NSG 4067 Wellness in Older Adults Gerontological Nursing Response

Title:  NSG 4067 Wellness in Older Adults Gerontological Nursing Response

I personally do not feel that I could appropriately define an age of when a person becomes elderly, primarily due to the vast variations of comorbidities that any one individual may have. I state this because I feel that being elderly is a state of mind. I work with patients that range from as low as 50 years of age, up to over 100 years of age, and there are several different points where they would state they knew they were getting “elderly.” Most of them place the age around a significant debilitating health change with a large percentage saying it was a fractured hip. According to Singh and Bajorek, they state that “as a convention, a person aged 65 years or more is often referred to as ‘elderly'” (Singh, & Bajorek, 2014). As a general rule and to answer the question, I would say that a person becomes elderly around 65 years of age.

I think older people are often perceived as fragile and debilitated individuals that, if not monitored carefully, will give everything they own away due to dementia (that they may or may not have). I think older people are individuals that are trying to enjoy every minute of life that they have after raising children or working every day for the last fifty years, and so what if they make some questionable choices, so long as they are not hurting others. I believe they are “active” as much as they can be until they can not be due to some significant change. I use fractured hip because it is approximately 70 percent of the individuals I take care of, but it could be anything like heart attack, any form of surgery, and even depression.

An “elderly” individual I would like to discuss is my 75-year-old grandfather. He is one of the most active individuals I know of at his age. He wakes up at five in the morning, still does push-ups and sit-ups, and then works in his woodshop for the majority of the day. He sells wood crafts at the flea market for some side money that retirement does not give him (or that they know about). He says he is getting old because the doctor told him he has hypertension and put him on blood pressure medication about a year ago. Of course, my response is, three-quarters of anyone you speak to every day is on something for blood pressure. My final thought is, I sure hope I am as healthy as my grandfather when I get to his age, but I know I probably will not.

NSG 4067 Wellness in Older Adults Gerontological Nursing Response References:

Singh, S., & Bajorek, B. (2014). Defining ‘elderly’’ in clinical practice guidelines for pharmacotherapy.’ Pharmacy Practice (1886-3655), 12(4), 1–9.

A Sample Answer 3 For the Assignment: NSG 4067 Wellness in Older Adults Gerontological Nursing Response

Title:  NSG 4067 Wellness in Older Adults Gerontological Nursing Response

As we grow older, there is a decline in psychological and physiological functioning, which increases the risks of developing comorbidities such as type 2 diabetes, fall injuries, hypertension, obesity, and cancer. As such, wellness programs are designed to help improve or maintain older adults’ well-being through appropriate diet, stress management, exercise, and disease prevention(Anandh et al., 2021). Unlike health promotion, which mainly focuses on an end goal, a wellness program can adopt a holistic approach to balance every facet of the older adult’s life, from spiritual, physical, intellectual, social, cognitive, emotional, and occupational well-being.

Holistic Wellness Program

With my patient’s advanced age, it is necessary to develop the most effective holistic wellness program to promote the health of her body, mind, and spirit. The first part of the program focuses on physical wellness, with appropriate diet and activities such as group exercise, scheduled walking, and yoga (Fullen et al., 2018). To promote the patient’s emotional well-being, the program recommends the accommodation of pets to ease anxiety and depression. Studies show that pets can elevate serotonin levels and lower the level of cortisol, hence relieving stress.

The program also covers intellectual wellness, community support groups, and internet services to help the patient remain sane. Social wellness will be promoted by attending local sporting and entertainment events to promote social interaction (Anandh et al., 2021). Spiritual wellness is promoted by encouraging the patient to remain strong in their religious values, and beliefs like Christians should be encouraged to go to church. Generally, this program will help promote the patients’ overall health and prevent complications such as stress, anxiety, falls, fractures, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension.

NSG 4067 Wellness in Older Adults Gerontological Nursing Response References

Anandh, S., Varadharajulu, G., Alate, M. M., & Patil, D. M. (2021). Effect of Mindful Outdoor Walking on Attention Among Independent Rural Elderly. Int J Cur Res Rev| Vol, 13(01), 75. http://dx.doi.org/10.31782/IJCRR.2021.13106

Fullen, M. C., Richardson, V. E., & Granello, D. H. (2018). Comparing successful aging, resilience, and holistic wellness as predictors of the good life. Educational Gerontology, 44(7), 459-468. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601277.2018.1501230

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