Nursing Homes example essay topic

Since I was a little girl, I have been giving care to others. It started when I was nine years old. My grandmother, who was a heavy smoker, developed cancer and became very sick... It got to the point where she received home hospice care because nothing more could be done for her in the hospitals. "Hospice is a specialized type of medical care for people who have advanced or life-limiting illness. This care is provided by a team of individuals who care for patients and families in their homes" (1).

It basically provides the patient with care in the comfort of their home. A hospital bed was set up in our home where she spent her last days. She was hooked up to an I.V. where she would receive daily doses of morphine, a strong drug ment to ease the pain of the terminally ill. I would check on her frequently, and even learned how to program the machine that released her morphine. Soon after my grandmother died, my mom started getting sick.

When she was born, she was born with a heart condition. Her heart had a "hole" in it and it was positioned wrong in her chest. In fact, it was said by doctors that because of her abnormal heart condition, she wouldn't live past the age of six. She was also partially blind in her left eye, which restricted her from driving. As she got older and older, her heart grew weaker and weaker.

At the age of 35 years old, she had a pacemaker surgically implanted in her chest. A pacemaker is a battery-powered case that assists the heart in beating. An incision is made and a pocket is formed in the area overlying the muscle on the outside of the chest wall". Most are placed to prevent the heart from going to slow.

This happens because there is no cell in the heart that will beat fast enough to maintain proper function or because the electrical pathway, which allows impulses to spread to the necessary parts of the heart muscle is damaged". (2). Eventually, even the pacemaker didn't help. Her heart couldn't handle the aging process, and it became more and more difficult for her to do simple, everyday activities.

Even walking became a chore. I would do my part by helping out at home with the daily chores and push her around in her wheelchair whenever we went places. At 11 years old, I was more mature and responsible that most kids my age. I found myself constantly worrying about my mother, and was always wondering if she was okay. I would walk myself straight home after school instead of going to a friends house, and once I was home, I would stay by my mom's side instead of going out to play. My mom died in June of '93 when she was 45 years old.

I was only 11. After my mom died, I continued my care-giving, but this time it was for my-self. My father worked a second-shift job that required him to work the hours of 3 pm to 12 am 7 days a week. I rarely saw him. By the time I came home from school, he had already left for work, and by the time he got home, I was long in bed. I took on pretty much all of the responsibilities around the house myself.

I cooked, did my own wash, cleaned the house and so on. My dad couldn't afford a full-time babysitter, so I was on my own a lot of the time. I became very independent at an early age. The experiences I've had in the past, I believe, is what will make me a great care-giver in the future, not only with my own family, but in my career as well. Considering I spent about half of my childhood without a mother, I will enjoy time spent with my children. I will want to give them the attention and time that I had taken from me at such an early age.

I want to give them everything I didn't have. My career choice is to be a nurse employed in a nursing home. I have seen and heard far too many horror stories about abuse and neglect that too often takes place in nursing homes, and I want to do my part to make sure the care I give is proper. People are placed in nursing homes for various reasons. Many are too old to live on their own, and some are sick.

Others may not have family around to take care of them. For whatever reason, elderly people shouldn't be neglected". In July, 2001 a congressional report stated that 1,600 nursing homes- nearly one-third, have been cited for abuse. In the 1,600 of these nursing homes, the abuse violations were serious enough to cause actual harm to residents or to place the residents in serious jeopardy or death of a serious injury". (3). Some people who are employed at nursing homes have complete apathy for those they are giving care to.

To them it's just another job, and they take their anger and frustrations out on the elderly. Care-giving has become a second nature to me. I have done it all my life and will continue to do so in the future. I believe proper care is important in over-all emotional health. Citations 1) web) web) web.