Students’ Attitudes, Values and Expectations about Aging and Care for Older Adults
Introduction
Interacting and taking care of older adults is viewed differently by students. This personal statement essay will focus on my attitudes, values, and expectations about aging and how these attitudes, values, and expectations impact my care of older adults.
Critical Analysis
For most students, especially those pursuing medical-related courses such as nursing, older people are a special population that requires excellent health care. As a nursing student, my attitudes, values, and expectations towards aging, particularly older adults, are increasingly positive. International studies show that most of the nurse students, and those pursuing healthcare-related courses, are increasingly passionate about providing care to the elderly (Salin et al., 2020). The primary reason I have a positive attitude towards the aging population is that I have a strong desire to undertake challenging goals or duties and solve complex problems such as those involved in taking care of the elderly. According to Evers, Ploeg, and Kaasalainen, (2011), providing care to the older adults requires an individual to be committed, ambitious and hardworking since the duties or responsibilities that come with taking care of the elderly are substantially challenging (Evers, Ploeg & Kaasalainen, 2011). Some of my most notable values towards aging or older adults include commitment, honesty, creativity in solving problems, need for personal growth through the care I offer to the most vulnerable populations such as the elderly, dependability, consistency in providing care and efficiency. Additionally, some of my expectations of the aging population or the older adults include improved quality of life, reduction in death or fatality rates, and increased independence through the care that is administered to them by students especially nursing students like me.
Moreover, my positive attitude, values, and expectations of the aging population have positively impacted my care of older adults. I consider nursing older adults an interesting and rewarding task, and this has, over time, enabled me to transform the lives of older adults with healthcare problems by assisting them to improve the quality of their lives. This effort has had a positive impact on the way I provide care to older adults. The majority of the patients or individuals I have gotten the opportunity to provide care to have recorded significant improvements in their health and wellbeing. My high expectations that the older adults can once again become independent and that their wellbeing can be enhanced through quality care has greatly influenced me in working hard and remaining consistent in my duties or providing care to this vulnerable population hence positively impacting the quality of care that I offer to them in the long-run. As a nursing student, I consider the provision of quality health care to the seniors or older people my priority both as an individual and a professional. That has positively impacted the care that I offer to these individuals.
Conclusion
In conclusion, my positive attitude, values, and expectations of aging have had a remarkable impact on the quality of care that I offer to the older adults that I get the opportunity to serve. The ability of a student to use his or her skills, values, and having positive attitudes and expectations of the elderly can positively impact or significantly contribute to improved care and wellbeing of this vulnerable population.