Future nurses get real-life lessons on aging

By Elaine Schmidt

No one likes to think about it, but we're all getting older. When the time comes for us to enter a hospital or assisted-living community, will nurses treat us with the respect we deserve?

That's the goal behind the School of Nursing's partnership with Belmont Village, which operates four senior communities in the L.A. area.

Working toward their master's degree, students in the entry-level clinical nursing program conduct "field work" by spending one-on-one time with a Belmont senior. Incorporating a structured "Life Story" exercise designed to help the student explore the senior's history, the project encourages students to develop a relationship with seniors and gain a deeper understanding of normal aging.

"We have so much to learn from our elders," said Monica Lundry, 44, a UCLA nursing student who has befriended Ruth Boorstin, a 90-year-old resident of Belmont Village in Encino. "I'm honored to have been invited to Belmont Village and grateful for the chance to interact with Ruth. Our visit has enriched my life and opened the idea of gerontology nursing as a possible career."

Robert Bencangey, Lundry's classmate, agreed that hearing the life experiences of a senior gave him new insights into the aging process.

"I had an amazing experience at Belmont," he said. "I talked for two hours with an outgoing, humorous and highly aware 88-year-old man. Previously I had worked only with elders suffering from dementia, so it was an eye-opening difference."

Belmont residents, who look forward to the visits, agreed that the nursing students can learn a thing or two from them.

"It is important for them to get out of the classroom and draw conclusions for themselves," Boorstin observed. Lundry, she said, "is a good listener. She knew how to ask the right questions. It was easy for me to tell her about my life."

The entry-level program, introduced at UCLA in 2006, is geared toward individuals who have earned an undergraduate degree in other fields and chosen to pursue nursing as a second career. The gerontology class project offers students a firsthand opportunity to socialize with still vibrant seniors in a non-acute-care setting.

"As our population ages and more elders enter acute-care hospitals, instilling a positive image of aging in younger generations will influence patients' quality of care," explained Lynn Woods, assistant professor at the nursing school. "In a youth-oriented society, seniors become our collective history. They hold life experiences that we all can learn from."

Jane Hirsch, a director of Belmont Village, agreed. "We know that the diverse histories of our seniors are a valuable and untapped resource."