Nursing and assessment on preparing our aged care facility for Essay

Nursing and assessment on preparing our aged care facility for accreditation - Essay Example These specialties are specifically made in order to provide a specific type of care that these demographics can and will require. These specialties also mean that in order for facilities to be allowed to provide care for certain demographics, they will need to be certified. This paper focuses on healthcare for the elderly population provided by our institution. In the past, our elderly healthcare institution has had difficulty in getting certified in 3.9: Choice and decision making for the elderly demographic. This paper’s purpose and main focus is to provide key information and important feed back on this particular issue in order to prepare the institution and its staff for 3.9: Choice and decision making certification. First, this paper will provide background information on certain topics pertaining to the elderly demographic, as well as provide nursing assessment for an elderly person. After this, the paper will detail some key features specifically pertaining to the area that the institution needs improvement on. This will be noted in order to help the institution’s nurse practitioners to better understand the concept of choice and decision making. The paper will present this information as: What is aging and what is the aging process? Assessment of an aged person. What is consumer participation? What does it entail? Barriers that hinder or impact the facility’s ability to meet standard 3.9: Choice and decision making. How to break through the mentioned barriers and how a quality framework can be used to show improvement. Conclusion What is aging and what are the common aging symptoms? Aging is a natural process that happens very commonly. According to the medical dictionary, â€Å"Human beings reach a peak of growth and development around the time of their mid 20s. Aging is the normal transition time after that flurry of activity.† The dictionary entry goes on to tell us that during this later half of life, the body becomes mo re prone to wear and tear, as well as be more susceptible to illness. (The free dictionary, 2012) This gives us a good basis as to what we can expect an aged person to be affected with, as well as what he or she may be experiencing. This also tells us about what to expect in terms of interactions with them. The process by which a person ages differs for each individual. Each person can age in a slightly different manner from everyone else, but there are general descriptions or processes about aging that is common amongst everyone. According to universe-review.ca, the aging process happens all over the body. The pace may be different for each individual but everyone ages. (2012). Here are some of common aging signs mentioned in the article: Weakening of connective tissue in the bladder, making it harder to store urine Loss of weight between ages 55-75 due to loss of lean muscle mass Bones become brittle Gradual loss of brain tissue In women, decrease in the size of breasts due to dec rease in the size of mammary glands Gradual loss of the ability to hear higher frequencies Skin wrinkles Hair thins and grays out Decrease in hormone output The body’s immune system becomes weaker Slower metabolism Decreased ability to smell Slower mental and physical response Women go through menopause Decreased sense of taste What is consumer participation? What does it entail? This section is dedicated to understanding what consumer participation is, why it is important in relation to the paper’s end goal of preparing the institution for accreditation, and how it can be applied to the day-to-day situation of the nursing care practitioners. According to http://asetts.vacau.com, in essence, consumer participation entails getting the patient involved in choosing what he feels would be