celebrates 30 years Journal of Gerontological Nursing Research emerges ATTITUDES TOWARD AGING AND OLDER ADULTS As a nursing student, you may have preconceived ideas about caring for older adults. Such ideas are influenced by your observations of family members, friends, neighbors, and the media, and your own experience with older adults. Perhaps you have a close relationship with your grandparents or you have noticed the aging of your own parents. For some of you, the aging process may have become noticeable when you look at yourself in the mirror. But for all of us, this universal phenomenon we call 55805_CH01_0001_0025.qxd 2/19/09 1:01 PM Page 7 8 Chapter 1: Introduction to Gerontological Nursing aging has some type of meaning, whether or not we have taken the time to consciously think about it. The way you view aging and older adults is often a product of your environment and the experiences to which you have been exposed. Negative attitudes toward aging or older adults (ageism) often arise in the same way—from negative past experiences. Many of our attitudes and ideas about older adults may not be grounded in fact. Some of you may have already been exposed to ageism, which is often displayed in much the same way as sexism or racism—via attitudes and actions. This is one reason for studying the aging process—to examine the myths and realities, to separate fact from fiction, and to gain an appreciation for what older adults have to offer. Population statistics show that the majority of your careers as nurses will include caring for older adults. As Mathy Mezey, director of the John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing at NYU, stated, “The population of older Americans is exploding. Geriatric patients are not one subgroup of patients but rather the core business of health systems” (Mezey, 2005). Providing highquality care to elders requires knowledge of the intricacies of the aging process as well as the unique syndromes and disease conditions that can accompany growing older. As you read and study this book, you are encouraged to examine your own thoughts, values, feelings, and attitudes about growing older. Perhaps you already have a positive attitude toward caring for older adults. Build on that value, and consider devoting your time and efforts to the practice of gerontological nursing. If, however, you are reading this chapter with the idea that gerontological nursing is a less desirable field of nursing, or that only those nurses who cannot find jobs elsewhere work in nursing homes, or that working with older people would be an option of last resort, then you may need to re-examine these feelings. Armed with the facts and some positive experiences with older adults, you may change your mind. Advocates for older adults, such as Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, feel that older adults, as repositories of our collective memories, should be appreciated and respected. As the 1997 American Psychological Association’s keynote convention speaker, Wiesel said, “. . . an old person represents wisdom and the promise of living a full life . . . the worst curse is to make him or her feel worthless” (American Psychological Association, 2008). The older population is changing dramatically as the baby boomers (those born from 1946–1964) reach retirement age (as of 2011). Because this phenomenon is happening in many places around the globe (see Chapters 2 and 23), gerontology is the place to be! Caring for the largest number of older adults in history will present enormous opportunities. With the over-85 age group being the fastest growing, the complexity of caring for so many people with multiple physical and psychosocial changes will present a challenge for the most daring of nurses. Will you be ready? The purpose of this book is to provide the essential information needed by students of gerontological nursing to provide quality care to older adults. In your study of this text, you will be presented with knowledge and insights from experienced professionals with expertise in various areas of gerontological nursing and geriatrics. Each chapter contains thought-provoking activities and questions for personal reflection. Case studies will help you to think about and