Posted on 05/11/2002 1:02:07 PM PDT by Mahone
Med Students Think Poorly of Elderly, Survey Finds
Fri May 10, 5:46 PM ET
By Meg Bryant
WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - Medical students generally have poor knowledge and understanding of the elderly, which may translate to inferior care for older patients, a Johns Hopkins study concludes.
Seventy-nine percent of first-year medical students and 30% of third-year medical students attending the Baltimore university completed the survey. The results were presented here Friday at the American Geriatrics Society's annual meeting.
On general facts about aging, more than half the students scored 0-3 correct on a 10-point scale. For example, most students wrongly believed that at least 20% of the US population is elderly, that most older persons are depressed, and that a majority of old people live in nursing homes or some form of assisted care.
Students also were more likely to rate an old person as "ineffective" compared with a younger one, and were less likely to recommend aggressive treatment for elderly patients. In one hypothetical situation, 83% of students said that if they saw a 10-year-old girl with pneumonia in both lungs, they would admit the child to the intensive care ward and treat her pneumonia aggressively. When the patient was an 85-year-old woman, only 56% recommended an aggressive course of treatment.
In another case, 11% of first-year students and 17% of third-year students agreed with the statement "it's a waste of time to counsel an elderly patient to quit smoking."
"These data suggest that medical students have negative attitudes towards and limited knowledge about older persons at the start of their medical school experience," chief investigator M. Harper and colleagues conclude. They add that these attitudes "do not appear to change significantly between the first and third year of medical school."
"The implications are that if students, regardless of the field of medicine they choose, will treat older patients with more respect and understanding, it will impact the kind of care those patients get," Harper said.
He said he hopes the findings will lead to more training in geriatrics for medical students. However, changing curricula and hospital practice can take time; in the meantime, Hopkins plans to start chipping away at negative attitudes by "pairing medical students with senior mentors in the community who are aging successfully."
Improving students' perceptions of the elderly also could enhance their interest in geriatric medicine, Harper added.
Well, that's one reason they are going to school, isn't it?
This is a poor article in general, What statistical validity does it have when 70% of first years but only 30% of third years respond?
This looks primarily like the fellow is trying to more funding and time for his field of interest. A fair enough wish, but a weak effort.
"One death is a tragedy, a million deaths a statistic"......Joseph Stalin.
[shrugs] But America is very different.
You know how we're always reading about how the US schools suck and kids never learn anything? Well, in the US, old people are just those stupid, worthless kids with gray hair and helpless because they're on 8 meds a day because they've eaten garbage all their lives and now their bodies are as hopeless as their minds...
I've known old people that I do respect and have learned lots of great stuff from. But after working as a trainer in corporate America -- and knowing lots of people who work with support programs for senior citizens -- I've come to hate senior citizens as a class.
Pop culture America creates monstrously inhuman people to begin with, and when those creations get old they lose whatever redeeming features the energy of youth may have provided. The situation is terribly sad, but I don't see how pretending it's the fault of "ignorant young people" makes it any better...
Mark W.
We do the best we can with the elderly, they do have their ... moments.
But you my friend appear to be from the self-centered, self-interested, self-justifying class, and - really - you should not be in the presence of adults who might need compassion, caring, and maturity. You're simply too childish to be in the presence of adults.
Although this immature twit MarkWar doesn't entirely illustrate my point, I do maintain that Asia's de facto respect for the the elderly is a good thing, and not the burden so eloquently illustrated by the spoiled brat MarkWar.
[laughs] Did you miss that last line I wrote? Here it is for you again:
"The situation is terribly sad, but I don't see how pretending it's the fault of "ignorant young people" makes it any better... "
Denying reality because it doesn't suit your vision of what is "nice" or "fair" or "decent" is still denial. It's a kind of mental problem...
Mark W.
I think you've illustrated your point very well.
No need for any further comment.
During WWII women worked in factories and served in the military, some in the battle zones. Many continued to raise children while playing "Rosie the Rivitor" and living on slim rations to support the war effort.
Growing old is not something one chooses and many women outlive their spouses and end up alone through no fault of their own regardless of the life they led. At one time children and family members automatically assumed responsibility for their elderly parents and relatives. Nothing was thought of it and the effort wasn't considered a sacrifice but rather an honor and a duty. Then the government, beginning under FDR, clandestinely began to change our society from one of individual responsibility to a collective responsibility through all sorts of government programs. This eventually led to attitudes such as yours.
I am against SS and MC as well as all other government welfare programs. Private charities to which we willing give and volunteer our time for are fine with me. Prior to the government taking over and supplanting them, they handled the truly needy cases just fine. Ne'er do wells weren't tolerated and wasteful bureaucracies were unknown. Life was not perfect then, there were many, many hardships to be overcome, but the attitude was certainly much more admirable than yours.
My wife is from SE Asia.
I recently bought a new (small) house for the parents. We regularly send $$ for medical care. There is no alternative.
Of course it is a minor burden, compared to my own (American) parents who have SS, MC, house, bank accounts, and other resources. They don't need for anything other than conversation and family contact.
Guess which one gives me more satisfaction as a "burdened" son?
Becky absolutely adored her senior mentor and still keeps in touch. I think most of the students (who grumbled and complained at first) came away from the class with new knowledge about the elderly and new friends.
During and after that experience I vowed I would never be one of those grumpy unhappy people. I am determined to keep a good attitude toward life and the people I meet and deal with and it has paid off.
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