My first day in the nursing home I shadowed a certified nursing assistant. I thought I knew all there was to know about communicating until I began working with the elderly. My perspective immediately changed as I interacted with the residents. Whether transporting residents or attending to their needs, I observed that many of the elderly residents avoided eye contact and did not speak unless it was necessary. It seemed as though typical communication styles that I was use to, were not the norm in the nursing home. It became a challenge for me to negotiate the different communication styles, and overcome these barriers to communicating. On my third week of clinical, I was assigned to a resident named Margaret. Margaret, 79 years
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One of my many experiences with a dementia resident started on a good note. I walked into a resident’s room by the name of Mary, and I greeted her. She greeted me in return with a smile and seemed to be in a good mood. I asked if she was ready for her bath and she quickly became confused and forgetful that it was necessary for me to supervise her. I told her I would only help if she needed me. This was an example of being proactively focused in letting the resident doing her own task, “to optimize function and health”(p. 32), rather than “doing the task for the person, which creates excess disability and health complications.”(p.32). After she had washed herself, I asked her if she was ready to rest. She then became agitated and started to strike out at me. She started yelling about how she needed to go and pick up her children from school and insisted that she needed to get supper on the table. I observed this as a sign that the Mary was feeling insecure, uncomfortable or unsafe. I noticed her as she looked around the room and began to ask where she was. I tried to understand and acknowledged her feelings and reassured her that she was safe and being cared of. I spoke clearly and naturally in a warm and calm voice, even though I was panicking inside; fortunately this diffused the situation quickly. Soon after, I offered her activities that she enjoyed such as, folding small towels, listening to music or offered a
One of my many experiences with a dementia resident started on a good note. I walked into a resident’s room by the name of Mary, and I greeted her. She greeted me in return with a smile and seemed to be in a good mood. I asked if she was ready for her bath and she quickly became confused and forgetful that it was necessary for me to supervise her. I told her I would only help if she needed me. This was an example of being proactively focused in letting the resident doing her own task, “to optimize function and health”(p. 32), rather than “doing the task for the person, which creates excess disability and health complications.”(p.32). After she had washed herself, I asked her if she was ready to rest. She then became agitated and started to strike out at me. She started yelling about how she needed to go and pick up her children from school and insisted that she needed to get supper on the table. I observed this as a sign that the Mary was feeling insecure, uncomfortable or unsafe. I noticed her as she looked around the room and began to ask where she was. I tried to understand and acknowledged her feelings and reassured her that she was safe and being cared of. I spoke clearly and naturally in a warm and calm voice, even though I was panicking inside; fortunately this diffused the situation quickly. Soon after, I offered her activities that she enjoyed such as, folding small towels, listening to music or offered a