Guest Author, Nursing Student

Hello, My name is Kim and I am currently a first year nursing student at the University Of Madison. Coincidentally, I am enrolled in a health care class where we are discussing much of the same topics. I am still extremely confused on many of the health care concepts and feel that it would take years for me to learn and understand everything. With the growing number of older adults, long term care needs to be reformed- in my opinion. Below I will tell you why I believe this to be true.
When I first entered into the nursing program , I had this thought that I would be working with middle-aged persons or younger individuals. Much to my surprise, many of my clinical patients are ages 65+. Out of the past 8 months of clinical work, I can only remember maybe 5 or 6 of my patients being younger; and they were still all over 50. We need to realize that within the next decade or so the number of persons over the age 65 will reach almost 70 million (CDC, 2010). Also, it is alarming that the number of qualified professionals in geriatrics is extremely low. There needs to be more individuals educated in order to care for this growing population. I have seen first-hand the number of elderly patients that are admitted into the hospital on a daily basis.
A few weeks ago, one of my patients was a 76 year old man suffering from dementia and severe arthritis. During the day, I was in charge of administering his medication and helping him with his daily functions. His children were there the entire day and were critiquing my work. It was extremely frustrating as a nurse to have these individuals "watching me like a hawk" as I tried to care for him. This situation made me realize how we need a reform in long term care.
I feel that long term care needs to take on a more "home" based setting. Often, the children or close friends know the individual extremely well and have knowledge on how that patient would want to be cared for. Also, agreements between care givers must be made prior so individuals know how to handle certain situations. Another benefit of a more home-based care, is the attention the patient will receive. In a hospital or nursing home setting, it is impossible for the professional to be present 24/7. In a smaller, intimate, and more personal setting the care-giver can be attentive to the needs of the patient.
Lastly, I believe the health reforms this team proposed are accurace, consistent, and much needed in todays health care setting. There needs to be reform within the long term care setting and with proper action, this team could be the first to propose these important ideas.