They need us!

Background:

            During my time at the College of Nursing, I learned a lot about patient care and nursing sciences, and I recognized prevention is always more important than treatment. Throughout spring 2019, I found my interest in research about the geriatric population. I had the opportunity to be an undergraduate research assistant for Dr. Cynthia Corbett at the Advancing Chronic Care Outcomes through Research and Innovation (ACORN Center) in summer 2019. The ACORN Center focuses on improving the quality of life for older adults by using technology. Working with Dr. Corbett and the ACORN research team became the most memorable experience during my time at the University of South Carolina. Here, I have seen many issues in the healthcare field, especially for the geriatric population.

Problems:

            During my time at the ACORN Center, I realized the importance of preventing complications during aging and how that could improve older adults' quality of life. However, that is a huge problem for healthcare scientists because multiple body functions decline during the aging process, which makes this population the most vulnerable. In addition, economic limitations interfere with the accessibility of healthcare for older adults, and insurance coverage is complicated for older adults’ needs. For example, insurance covers the glasses frame but not the lenses for older adults with visual impairment when they are the most expensive and most important part of the glasses. We need more people in healthcare to help the geriatric population and advocate for their benefits. However, fewer and fewer healthcare workers want to dive in and support the geriatric population. For example, there are two hundred nursing students in my nursing cohort, and only five to ten students are interested in caring for the geriatric population. In my friend’s cohort in medical school, only three medical students are interested in the geriatric population out of over one hundred students. One of the reasons this happens is that, as the younger generation, we did not have enough opportunities to interact with the geriatric population to understand them and develop an interest in serving them. During my time at the ACORN Center, I recognized the barriers for the geriatric population to improve quality of life, and one of those is fear of falls at nighttime. Therefore, I researched about using technology to reduce the fear of falls. 

            I improved myself a lot throughout my time as a research assistant. I developed techniques to understand the geriatric population, and from that, I can help them improve their quality of life. It starts with understanding their struggles and how to communicate with them effectively. Then, one should think about how to help them to be independent during their aging process. This learning is discussed more specifically in Key Insights sections, which is what I learned throughout the time at University of South Carolina College of Nursing, titled “Their Shoes,” “Overcome my mind,” and “Finding the Hidden Road.” These insights are a combination of my classroom knowledge through NURS 212, NURS 312, NURS 411, and NURS 313; and experience of living with my grandfather, which gives me a different view about the geriatric population; and my work at the ACORN Center. Through these experiences, I developed empathy and researched how to use technology to facilitate their aging process. I believe all these learning experiences will help me in the future to be a competent nurse and also a researcher that can communicate effectively with my patients and participants to identify their concerns so that I can be their advocate. Also, I care more for the geriatric population because I worked with them a lot throughout my research project. Therefore, increasing interaction with the geriatric population can help develop empathy and compassion for this population.

General Solutions:

To support future nursing students’ understanding of the aging process and to bring awareness of the health disparity of older adults in society, I will suggest these techniques:

1. Change to a holistic view for admission into nursing school rather than just basing it on statistics. Encourage pre-nursing students to volunteer in nursing homes before applying to nursing school.

2. Change the curriculum of Care for Older Adults course to have 20 hours volunteer at a nursing home.

3. Improve healthcare insurance policy coverage for older adults.

4. Increase research about using technology to improve older adults' health management by using virtual home assistants such as Alexa.

Implementation:

            One of the reasons for older adults’ healthcare disparity is that the younger healthcare workers generation did not have many opportunities to interact and understand the geriatric population while in school. The course Care for Older Adults Nursing (NURS 313) is an online course, so the students pay less attention to learn more about the geriatric population. If possible, the course should require nursing students to shadow or volunteer in a nursing home for at least 20 hours to better understand this population. As a Dean’s Student Advisory Board, I will mention this suggestion during the next meeting; however, nursing school is hectic, so any extra works will be considered carefully.

            Using technology to improve health management really has the potential to become a growing field in the future for geriatric care. During my time as an undergraduate research assistant, I recognized the geriatric population is willing to learn; however, no one teaches them about technology and is patient with them enough to work with them. As I mentioned in my key insight, it is hard for older adults to learn a new still. Therefore, compassion and empathy are important to interact with the geriatric population. In addition, it is also important to learn how to communicate with the geriatric population effectively. I wrote a Magellan Scholar proposal about using smart light bulbs with Alexa devices to provide adequate light at night. Adequate and easy access to light sources can help the geriatric population decrease the fear of falls.

Evaluation:

            For my research project, I will interview the participants at the end of eight weeks of collecting the usage of smart light bulbs. The interview will provide the perspective of older adults about using technology in their lives and how it helps them be more independent. The project will succeed if I receive positive feedback from my participant about the smart light bulbs. This experience helps me understand research and how research can apply to daily life and improve life quality.