Adult health with a focus on aging and the point of view of gerontologic nursing has really opened my eyes. I believe aging is an important process to life because with aging comes wisdom, acquired knowledge, experiences, memories, and stories that truly can last a lifetime. As people age, they gain new insights on their past years and what’s to come still in their future whether that is education, romance, family, travels, and more insightful experiences. Talking amongst elderly patients has been so insightful and meaningful to me because you can really learn a lot. In those moments of conversation, I could tell how happy they were to share their words of wisdom, or cherished memories, or simply just have someone to talk to. The following insights will influence my practice going forward.

One insight to this population of nursing and population in general is that age is only a number. I believe that we can get so wrapped up in setting bias with a person’s age. It’s easy to label 80-year-olds for example lose energy and are very sedentary, but that is simply not true. I learned a lot and my perspective grew due to Dr. Marilyn Guglicci presentation. It opened my eyes to the labels that are put on aging people that shouldn’t be there. No matter the age, you can have fun, you can hike, bike, dance, laugh, love, adventure, and do anything and everything your body lets you do and what you set your mind to. Just because you age, doesn’t mean you are that number. I think that’s a huge lesson and insightful message that a lot more people should learn about because it’s true, age is what we feel, not the number that we are. This insight will influence my future practice because I will care for my patients for who they are, and not simply their age.

My other insight to this population is how important autonomy is. It’s very easy to help patients in the hospital and want to do everything we can for them, but we sometimes need to take a step back and let them do all that they can first. Even better, we should promote and encourage their independence. Encouraging autonomy and independence helps promote normalcy and gives the individual a say in their care and be in control of their life. We should continue to promote autonomy and healthy quality of life because all aging individuals have so much of themselves to give, learn, and use even if they are hospitalized. Hospitalization shouldn’t stop living, normalcy, or independence and this insight will be so impactful in my future practice.