AGE-u-cate Training Institute Blog

What happens when an eldercare professional becomes a family caregiver?  This situation hit home when my husband had a cycling accident and fractured his hip. I was surprised by my reaction to suddenly becoming his care partner, juggling the role of home nurse, personal care attendant, meal provider, and problem solver of getting around in our two-story house. Somewhere in the mix I was also moral support and empathizer. The first week centered on creating a new routine, helping with pain management and personal care. Oh, and wound dressing changes. I quickly was reminded why I never became a nurse, calling a nurse-friend in a panic because the dressing from the hospital was stuck to the wound and I was sickened by pulling it off! If I’m perfectly honest, I felt angered at times by this turn of events that intruded our lives- I didn’t have time for this! It didn’t help seeing my active husband now using a walker- making him “old” to my eyes, bringing up fear about what’s to come as we age.

Our team was priviledged to have recently been asked to present at the North Dakota Long Term Care Association.  Included in this event was a special one day Frontline Caregiver Conference.  In an industry faced with severe staff shortages, particularly in North Dakota, we certainly applaud the leaders that chose to honor frontline staff with a day to network with other professionals, enjoy some pampering from vendors (massages and mani's to name a few!) and develop new skills to enhance their very demanding jobs.

I use the term inside-out a LOT. It just seems to fit many descriptives for me. I also like transformative change. When you look at these together, I believe that so much of what we are doing as educators in the elder care field should be focused on helping organizations bring about inside-out changes that lead to transformation or deep culture change. I love the work being done through such organizations at Pioneer Network, Leading Age, Eden Alternative and so many others that have stepped up to create out of the box initiatives and thinking. It's not an easy task, but I'm privileged to be a part of this movement and work alongside organizations across the country who are taking bold steps in person-centered care. It's exciting, challenging, sometimes daunting - but the efforts of just one person can have exponential effects across an organization. Hats off to all of those who are blazing new trails!