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Initially hearing this phrase I think immobility, shuffled gait, incontinence, cognitive decline (thinking more Alzheimer's/dementia I swear I love old people), chronic pain, overall declining state, and family.

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My Grandma used to decorate her house for the holidays and host at her house. She has always been very neat, organized, and meticulous with her house, and Christmas was no exception. The animatronics and decorations are being passed down through the family, but I am most interested in them. When calling her for this project, I made sure to tell her how much these memories meant to me and how they shape me today.

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What have been your reactions, the older adult’s responses to you, the relationship, and the focus on your life story?

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What have been your reactions, the older adult’s responses to you, the relationship, and the focus on your life story?

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I’m not surprised that my grandma didn’t talk much about her childhood. She has avoided those details most of my life, and I’ve had to pick them up from my mom, sister, cousins, and aunts. She focused mostly on her daughters, past marriages, and her siblings during their adulthoods, including herself. She talked more about what it was like to raise my mom and her sisters, and what life was like before my mom was in the picture, since she is the youngest and there is an age gap between her and her sisters.

She’s never gotten very emotional when reminiscing about the people we talked about for this project, but her oldest daughter is always a touchy subject. I saved talking about her for last because it did distract both of us. She followed in her mom's footsteps, marrying a military man and being a housewife with kids. I remember her mom, my great-grandma, and that was honestly one of the very few times I’ve heard my grandma bring her up since she passed.

I didn’t expect her to speak so poorly of her second-born daughter, Jennifer, so I chose not to include that in the Padlet. Jennifer has never had a huge role in the family or significant involvement with any of us, so I was not surprised that my grandma responded this way.

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Explain how you adapted your communication, presence, active listening, and other therapeutic techniques to facilitate reminiscing. Why did you choose these approaches? What were the outcomes (effects)? Draw at least two connections of learning to information learned from the assigned readings.

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Explain how you adapted your communication, presence, active listening, and other therapeutic techniques to facilitate reminiscing. Why did you choose these approaches? What were the outcomes (effects)? Draw at least two connections of learning to information learned from the assigned readings.

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Because we were on FaceTime for one encounter, I had to be sure to actively listen, face the camera, not interrupt her, wait for her to finish speaking, and maintain an appropriate position in the camera for her to see and hear me. Due to the distance and my apartment setting, there were definitely some Wi-Fi connection issues, which led to communication barriers and challenges.

While we were face-to-face, it was difficult because there were other family members around us. However, they also had more stories and information to contribute, which helped my grandma share more as they bounced ideas and memories around. She’s not hard of hearing and sees perfectly fine, but I still made sure to face her appropriately at the kitchen table. We sat down and talked face to face for a bit before moving into the living room with some of the people mentioned in the project.

These strategies align with therapeutic communication skills from our readings, such as establishing rapport through presence and nonverbal attentiveness, as well as using silence and patience to encourage deeper sharing. These methods created a more open environment where she felt comfortable talking about selective parts of her life.

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Reflect on the words/phrases you listed at the beginning of this course (shown in your Elder Life Story: Part 1 in the Padlet). Did your thoughts or feelings change as a result of this assignment? Why or why not?

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Reflect on the words/phrases you listed at the beginning of this course (shown in your Elder Life Story: Part 1 in the Padlet). Did your thoughts or feelings change as a result of this assignment? Why or why not?

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Honestly, not much, because of what I'm constantly exposed to in terms of the elderly and aging population. My grandma seems to be an exception. I see more people with deteriorating conditions or battling chronic health issues more often than I see healthy older adults.

While this experience reminded me to be conscious of other people and their lives, my grandma, her interviews, and all my experiences with her have never resembled the adjectives I used at the beginning of this project. I fear the day any negative context falls upon her.

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All knowledge and skills used in this setting are transferable to all settings for nursing practice. Briefly discuss how this experience might impact your future nursing practice, regardless of the setting or population (e.g. peds, young adult, etc.).

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All knowledge and skills used in this setting are transferable to all settings for nursing practice. Briefly discuss how this experience might impact your future nursing practice, regardless of the setting or population (e.g. peds, young adult, etc.).

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Again, this experience has reminded me to consider others a little more. I already treat every older adult I see at work like somebody’s grandma or grandpa, so I take care of them the way I would want—or at least keep their care up to my standards. But this project and the interviews remind me that every older adult has lived the same life I’m entering.

There are stories and lessons to be heard from other people, and they have either been in my shoes or I could be in theirs one day. That goes for any patient I may encounter, of any age or group. It never hurts to be mindful or to think of others.