Reading for Week 6
Week 6
Aging and Long-term Care
What does it mean to grow older? What are the most common social work roles with older adults? To answer these questions, be sure to review the results of the Berlin Aging Study, which was a longitudinal study that examined the lives of older adults. The results dispelled many myths about aging. For example, older adults are not fixated on death and dying. They also do not live their lives reminiscing about the past. They value their independence, are open to learning, and have goals in life. They are also mentally, physically, and socially active. Of course, health status will vary among individuals as they age. Some older adults struggle with chronic and/or acute health conditions that can limit their ability to live their lives the way they want. This is where social workers in health care can be an invaluable source of information, support, guidance, and counsel (Hutchison, 2015).
Social workers can be found working in a variety of settings that support the older adult population. These settings can range from a long-term care setting such as an assisted living facility or a skilled nursing facility, to a senior center. Social workers are also found in hospice, which is a medical program that provides holistic care to those who are terminally ill. Its focus is on quality of life at the end of life. Hospice also includes support for an individuals family (Hutchison, 2015).
Regardless of the role or setting, social workers who work with the older adult population should be competent and knowledgeable about the biological, social, and psychological aspects of aging. Your readings for this week will address these three aspects of aging. You will also learn about the signs, types, and causes of elder and dependent adult abuse and neglect. Finally, you will examine the challenges and rewards of social work in the practice settings where you would most commonly encounter an older adult client/patient (Ferraro & Wilmoth, 2013; Jackson, 2018).
ASSIGNMENT
Your assignment for this week requires you to locate and interview a social worker who works with older adults. While older adults do not have to be the only type of client/patient they work with, focus your interview and paper on their experiences working with this population. Be sure to include the following in your written summary of the interview:
1. Describe the social workers work setting and job title, along with their primary job responsibilities including how how their personal experiences and affective reactions may affect their assessment and decision-making
2. Explain their work with older adults, including the rewards and challenges when working with client strengths and limitations inclusive of the dimensions of diversity as understood as the intersectionality of multiple factors
3. Examine the strategies they use to effectively work in a collaborative manner with other professions when engaged in inter-professional teams.
4. Discuss and interpret their encounters with older or dependent adult abuse/neglect situations including how social workers understand frameworks of ethical decision-making and how to apply principles of critical thinking to those frameworks in practice, research, and policy arenas.
5. Inquire about the process for mandated reporting of suspected dependent adult abuse/neglect and if there is special training associated with this process.
6. Conclude with their advice for successfully working with older adult clients/patients. Do they recommend additional community resources that might be lacking for this population?
Even if you have to make up the interview, please do so off a Florida base nursing facility home. and provide a name if you could as i have to add their name on my interview participate form.