You are not alone in feeling challenged by what to do with an aging parent. The following tips can help: Be Informed. Do your research. Don’t wait until you are inundated with forms, brochures, doctors’ visits, and decisions which have to be made immediately. Begin by reading about your aging parent's medical conditions and life stage situation. Ask questions that you may normally shy away from. Most importantly, get resources. Find out about nursing and assisted living facilities, doctors, care managers, and social workers, and other resources to help your parent when needed. Start a Conversation with your Parent. Many people experience difficulty talking about sensitive topics such as health, aging, and death, etc.; however, a scenario I hear about often is “My mother fell. She’s in the hospital and I don’t know how to help her.” If this situation were to happen to you or anyone else you know, here are some important questions to ask: • Does your parent have an Advanced Care Directive?[4] • Does he or she have a will? • Has your parent appointed a Power of Attorney?[5] • Have you and your siblings discussed what your roles will be in case something happens to mom or dad? Having a conversation about your parent's future needs and desires with them is not planning for their death. It simply means you are invested and concerned about their safety and happiness should their health be compromised. Differentiate Between Your Feelings & Your Parent's Feelings. When parents age, their concerns and life goals may shift. Suddenly, the full life they once thought they had, may feel truncated. An aging parent may suddenly feel more pressure to achieve certain life goals. They may suddenly feel an urgent need to spend time conquerin... ... middle of paper ... ... for keeping accurate records of all transactions that he or she makes on behalf of the principal. The attorney-in-fact also is responsible for distinguishing between the types of decisions he or she has the power to make and other decisions. There are multiple types of decisions that the attorney-in-fact can be given the power to make, including the power to: Make financial decisions Make gifts of money Make health care decisions, including the ability to consent to giving, withholding, or stopping medical treatments, services, or diagnostic procedures. (Note: your loved one can also make a separate “health care power of attorney” to give only this power to an individual.) Recommend a guardian Read more @ the National Caregivers Library: What Is Power Of Attorney?, 2013 6. American Family Physician: A Practical Guide to Caring for Caregivers, December 2000
You need to ensure that you take a decision based on the financial resources available to you. You also need to ensure that elderly care requires a lot of time as well. Elders may feel better if you are physically around them but it is not necessary to absurdly change your schedule and support in a manner that you cannot consistently maintain over a long period of time.
Paralegals are continuing to assume new responsibilities in legal offices and perform many of the same duties as attorneys. Through formal education, training and experience, paralegals have knowledge and expertise regarding the legal system and law procedures, which qualify them to work under the supervision of an attorney. Along with preparing legal documents, contracts and other legal materials, a paralegal can also interview witnesses, and conducting legal research. The most important task a paralegal may have is helping an attorney prepare for hearings, trials, and meetings. Although a paralegal is trained to perform the same tasks as attorneys, they are explicitly prohibited from carrying out duties considered to be within the scope of the practice of law, such as setting legal fees, giving legal advice, submitting signed documents to court, and presenting cases in court. Paralegals are an essential part of today’s legal practice; furthermore, a competent paralegal can improve a law office’s profitability and the delivery of legal services. With these new responsibilities comes a higher level of demand and respect. In turn...
A living will is a type of advanced health care directive, which states an individual’s wishes for health care treatment when he/she is terminally ill. Living wills are often applied to end-of-life decision making when patients are no longer deemed competent to direct care for themselves. The form of living wills can vary widely. But, most address whether or not to use life-prolong medical treatment such as CPR, respirators, and artificial nutrition and hydration. These documents can also contain information about the importance of quality of life for patients and can name a healthcare proxy to make medical decisions in their place. Having a living will allows individuals to state their
It is important that patients and family members understand the conditions under which the patient is suffering from. People have an obligation of preparing themselves for end of live. This can be done by writing a will or an Advance Directive to guide the medical personnel and family members on what the patient wants. It can also be done by assigning a medical care proxy to decide on the patients behalf (Groopman and Hartzband, 2011). Medical personnel need to consider the patients wish and act as per the law when deciding on end-life options. Most of the decisions made by terminally ill patients are biased and compromised.
The book, ‘How to Care for Aging Parents’ is authored by Virginia Morris and with a forward by Robert M. Butler. In up-to-date new edition, the author completely revised and expanded over 200 pages of the text, covering the emotional, the legal issues and procedures, the financial aspect of every kind, medical related issues, and logistical related issues in caring for the elderly.
... own life when the need arises (Llama, 2014). If the patients’ living will is clear, family member and health care providers should respected the patient’s autonomy. DPOA is a person appointed by the patient to make medical decisions on the patient’s behalf if the patient become incapable to do so (Llama, 2014). In all health care settings, nurses should apply the four primary ethical principles.
Aging and old age for a long time presented as dominated by negative traits and states such as sickness, depression and isolation. The aging process is not simply senescence most people over the age of 65 are not Senile, bedridden, isolated, or suicidal (Aldwin & Levenson, 1994). This change in perspective led the investigation of the other side of the coin. Ageing is seen as health, maturity and personal Royal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generatively, coping and acceptance of age-related constraints (Birren & Fisher, 1995). Psychological und...
Living With Alzheimer's: Resouces Guide for Families and Caregivers. Washington, DC: Department of Health and Human Services, 2009.
Of the theories listed in our text regarding the health of psychosocial aging, the theory most in line with my idea of successful aging is “Life Course/ Lifespan Development” a theory developed by Back. Back’s theory suggests that as we age the roles throughout our lives are altered in one-way or another and our relationships also change. As one ages, their role changes could be from a mother who has raised children majority of her life to having an empty nest and only caring for her significant other, to being a grandmother. Responsibilities are not necessarily removed, just slightly different. Transitioning from psychosocial to biological again there are several theories trying to conceptualize how and why it is our bodies age I am led to side with Hayflick and Moorehead’s Programmed theory suggesti...
The thought of aging is not void of hesitance given it produces questions deprived of answers in the absence of a crystal ball. Subsequently, aging parallels the unknown; thus, faced with uncertainty adopting a positive perspective remains elusive. Although, it’s preferred to view aging optimistically one cannot escape its negative connotations. Will I be an active agent or isolated burden remains a noteworthy unknown that enervates my optimism. Another consideration leading to my vacillating view on aging is, not knowing to what degree personal competencies and capacities will carry forward, thereby affording autonomy in the elder years. However, as research suggest, the aging process transforms healthy adults into frail ones; thus, dashing one’s hope that such traits will endure (Friis, 2010). Incidentally, at age 48, these lingering questions will soon be answered. In the interim, there is an inherent responsibility to prepare physically, psychologically, and financially for entry into the aging population. Ideally, the goal is to
The article “What is Successful Aging”, thoroughly explained the author’s thoughts on what aging successfully actually means. I think it is extremely vital to try our best to be content with our lives and what we have done at a later age. Integrity versus despair, as we learned in class kept coming to mind while reading the article. It is important that when one reaches this age he or she doesn’t feel like there is more to look back on than to look forward to. I agreed with the author’s views on self-efficacy and different opportunities in aging successfully.
Aging is inevitable. People go through life meeting milestones such as going to college, getting married, having children, and then growing old. Getting older is not only hard on the individual but, also the family. It is difficult for a person who has taken care of themselves all their life to wake up one day and realize they can no longer do things on their own. That is why their are nursing homes. There are many speculations about whether or not it is okay to place a family member in a nursing home however, there are many benefits to nursing homes. The adult children of the elderly should opt for professional care for their aged parents rather than allowing them to live on their own because, nursing homes have constant help, daily activities, and people who can give family members continous support.
Older adults are a very knowledgeable population and have had a lot of life experiences. As people age, things start to change physically, mentally, and socially. It’s important to understand the process of aging, so that older adults can be taken care of properly. I interviewed P.R. who is a 71-year-old male that lives alone in his home. P.R. is a retired coal miner, and is currently living off his social security and savings. He lives close to both his daughter and son, who frequently help him out with things that are needed. P.R. was able to give me a lot of insight about specific challenges that he has experienced in his life that is associated with aging. I will be discussing challenges that P.R experienced physically, mentally,
Aging and being old was dominated by negative characteristics and conditions such as illness, depression, and isolation for a long time (Eibach, Mock, & Courtney, 2010). At first glance the terms “success” and “aging” seem to be in conflict to each other. When asking people about aging, their answers have many facets that are also found in psychological definitions: successful aging is seen as health, maturity and personal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generativity, coping, and acceptance of age-related limitations. In the psychological sense successful aging is also often seen as the absence of age-associated characteristics (Strawbridge, Wallhagen, & Cohen, 2002). It seems that successful aging means is not aging.
Middle adulthood is often a rewarding time for many, however, this period may be filled with several significant life demands. During this time some adults are caring for their grandchildren while simultaneously taking care of their aging and sometimes ill parents. During what is supposed to be a very rewarding developmental age, some are faced with added financial and physical burdens. This can lead to a depletion in money set aside for retirement and can create emotional and health problems for individuals in the caretaking