OLDER NURSES

Older Nurses Practices



Older Nurses Practices

Introduction

As we all know that as the time is passing, the ages of practitioners is also increasing. In many professions the ageing factors matters a lot like in labors. More than 50 percent of nurses are marching towards their retirements and they don't really feel any motivation to continue their practices in general. As the generation known as "baby boomers," individuals born between 1946 and 1964, reaches retirement age yet continues to work, the employment of older employees may increase substantially. With varying perspectives, no single definition of "older workers" exists. However, with the passage of the Age Discrimination Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), protection against discrimination based on age was applied to individuals 40 years and older (Allen, 2008).

Discussion

The research paper that is to be analyzed portrays that aged nurses are in great portion out off all nurses. In this research the sample size was very relevant and the nurses who were interested in participating that were selected only. This research pictured the view that changing styles and structure in this field made nurses with old experiences, very de motivating and very slow in their practices. If this would be the case than obviously motivation level of continuing the practices will be very low. The bedside practices of nurses with older ages were a bit interesting for them and this research identified that bedside practices were the major reason of continuing the practices by the older nurses (Allen, 2008).

This study is only a small pilot and cannot be generalized to other wards or institutions. Nevertheless, the intervention was designed and implemented by the nursing professionals, who offered a plan whereby oral hygiene was embedded within the ward regime. In addition, the nurses were in charge of the program and did not delegate it to unqualified staff, many of whom changed jobs frequently (Andrews, 2005).

After the 12 months of the program the oral hygiene protocol was being maintained. The teeth and dentures were brushed twice daily. Patients with persistent angular cheilitis, denture stomatitis, poor-fitting dentures and those complaining of pain were referred to the NSW Public Dental Service. The major expense was the oral hygiene trolley, which cost $1000 Australian Dollars, but it was purpose built, well made and the nurses found it very easy to manoeuvre and use. Following positive feedback from nursing staff and the success of this program, other wards in the hospital are now participating in the scheme (Andrews, 2005).

Establishing a new clinical practice in a busy and often understaffed ward for elderly patients is a challenge. The nurses in our study were under great emotional pressure, as meeting the demands of individuals who had intellectual as well as medical issues was physically demanding. The oral hygiene routine was seen as an important task following the educational input regarding the relevance of good oral health and it fitted 'neatly' into the drug trolley routine. The nurse unit manager did complain about the lack of clinical dental services and the need for the ...