Stages of Life and Influence on Age

In this exercise, I interviewed a friend, Andrea, 45 years old female, who had been admitted to a local hospital. I used the questions suggested for the assignment and got very insightful responses. This interview happed post-admission, and my friend is recovering very well.

1. Do you feel that your stage of life had any effect on your interaction with health care professionals?

The interviewee affirmed that the stages of their life affected their interaction with the healthcare professionals, who in their case were nurses, assistive care personnel, and the physicians. First, Andrea looks younger than her actual age, which led to nurses looking suspicious of the correctness of her information during admission assessment. However, she did rebuild their confidence by providing proof of age. Also, Andrea explained that “it was challenging to get physical therapy since my muscles were stiff and I did not like it” (I. Andrea, personal communication, May 28, 2022). The situation can be linked to the recent findings that increased age is linked to increased muscle stiffness (Xu et al., 2021). Therefore, Andrea would have had a more comfortable physical therapy in her young adult years than in her 40s. She also explained that her experience with nurses was great. She stated, “I have been in the wards several times with my condition so know what nurses are likely to do, so I had an easy time there” (I. Andrea, personal communication, May 28, 2022). This means Andrea’s age had contributed to her interaction with healthcare professionals.

2. Which areas of the hospital or clinic were most concerned with your well-being and feelings?

The interviewee claimed all units seemed to care for her very well, but she was impressed by the nursing practice. She stated that “there was always a nurse around, looking at my vitals and talking to me, which made me feel very good” (I. Andrea, personal communication, May 28, 2022). This aligns with a recent paper, which stated that “the presence of nurses improves the outcome of treatment, self-care, satisfaction and reduces patients’ loneliness and anxiety” (Fallahnezhad et al., 2021, p.3). She explained that the unit was busy, but the nurses always found a way to care for critically ill patients without reducing the amount of attention accorded to her. Such a practice is a triage system used by nurses to map out the most critical incidences and give care on a priority basis, according to severity or urgency (Smith, Filmalter, Masenge & Heyns, 2022). Andrea claimed that the triage system made her feel so much cared for by the nurses than any other department in the hospital.

3. Was your family with you during this hospital stay or outpatient visit?

Andrea claimed that her husband was always there for her during the admission period. Her health condition was that which required a series of hospital visits before the admission, and even during the outpatient visits, her family was very supportive. Family support was a big deal for her, as it was found in a study that further explained that such support promoted speedy recovery (Piat et al., 2011). Andrea would have had a terrible experience without such family support, such as one instance when her husband was so committed at work. She stated, “I did not want to make a big deal about it that day because I had a rough week having to do all things with the pain, I suffered my condition” (I. Andrea, personal communication, May 28, 2022). Her experience indicated the need for family support in adulthood.

4. Was your family included in your treatment, such as post-procedure instructions?

In addition to gratitude for her family’s support, Andrea was happy that her husband was involved in the treatment plan. Her husband signed as her proxy during critical procedures, and a family member is an ideal party for the role (Amin, 2021). She stated that in one of the operations, she had been informed that “that there was a possibility of not waking up. My husband was there with me because he was informed about the procedure and kept telling me I would wake up. He even prayed for me as I entered the operation room” (I. Andrea, personal communication, May 28, 2022). Andrea was very happy that her husband knew everything about her condition and even took great care of her. She said that “he was always there at home, I should say he was my home nurse” (I. Andrea, personal communication, May 28, 2022). This is logical evidence of the need for social support and family involvement in the care plan of an adult.

References

Fallahnezhad, T., Norouzadeh, R., Samari, B., Ebadi, A., Abbasinia, M., & Aghaie, B. (2021). Nurses’ Presence at the Patient Bedside: Challenges Experienced by Nurses. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-513295/v1

Amin, S. (2021). Health care proxy and Medicare: Rules, legalities, and more. Medicalnewstoday.com. Retrieved May 29 2022, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/health-care-proxy.

Piat, M., Sabetti, J., Fleury, M., Boyer, R., & Lesage, A. (2011). “Who Believes Most in Me and in My Recovery”: The Importance of Families for Persons With Serious Mental Illness Living in Structured Community Housing. Journal Of Social Work In Disability &Amp; Rehabilitation, 10(1), 49-65. https://doi.org/10.1080/1536710x.2011.546310

Xu, J., Fu, S., & Hug, F. (2021). Age-related increase in muscle stiffness is muscle length dependent and associated with muscle force in senior females. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-021-04519-8

Smith, J., Filmalter, C., Masenge, A., & Heyns, T. (2022). The accuracy of nurse-led triage of adult patients in the emergency centre of urban private hospitals. African Journal Of Emergency Medicine, 12(2), 112-116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.afjem.2022.02.007