Ageism In Nursing Care

In a society where racism seems to often take the media by storm, a lesser-known, yet somewhat similar concept also involving stereotypes and prejudices, may be equally present. This term is known as ageism. McMinn (1996) defines ageism as the “prejudice and negative description of older people who have been so categorized because they are old. Ageism involves the use of negative stereotypes of both the process of aging and of those who are seen as aged” (p. 27). Some ageist views may include that old people are grumpy, confused, a burden, or a lost cause. In today’s world, where the age group of those 85-99 years old is most rapidly increasing, ageism is about to become an even bigger problem. These individuals have different needs and are
[They] should not assume that being elderly or sick means that there is no need for setting medium and long term health goals towards independent functioning. Temporary loss of function due to illness or disability should not be an overwhelming obstacle to that person's nursing care. (p. 20) In this day and age, there are so many options for treatment, so even if a client becomes ill, he or she has a very likely chance at recovery. Every patient should have a health care plan that has been personalized just for him or her. I think it is really important to recognize that the elderly population may require different care, as their bodies are experiencing different processes. They need extra attention because their bodies may not be able to handle illness as well as they might have
People should recognize that changes do occur as people age, but these changes are not necessarily bad and certainly do not disable someone. The first step in fighting ageism is to make society aware of the abundance of ageist views that are present today. A lot of people may think their views are completely normal, but once they see how degrading these comments are and the effects they are having on these older individuals, they may think differently. Those who care for the older population also need to reflect on their own views of the elderly and identify any ageist views, so they can put a stop to them. Even with this education and self-reflection, ageism cannot be ended without a great deal of cooperation. Health care workers and the rest of society need to work together to help one another abandon these views and provide optimal care for the elderly population. This will make fighting ageism a much more manageable task. Eventually, our older generations will be given the respect and care they deserve, just as everyone else is. The age of the patient should not determine the quality of care given or be a reason to talk negatively of