The Elderly

When people get older, they change. I see this happening to the patients I have known for ten years. The alert, agile people in their 70's have become slower moving and slower thinking. That's just the natural progression of life. As they change, so must we. Our attitudes and levels of compassion need to increase. We need to realize that their actions are not any reflection upon us, but just nature taking its course. One of my patients came for a visit yesterday. She is now 82 years old and while she looks great on the outside, I see that mentally she is not the same. My front office staff was becoming annoyed with her as they kept repeating the same information to her. She seemed so confused. They lacked the compassion and respect that she should still deserve, even if it was harder to do. They were getting snippy with her and she was reacting in an agitated tone. That is when I intervened. I took the patient into my office and we sat down to "chat". I explained to her the exact same information that my staff was trying to, but this time she understood it. The reason why she did, was because the environment and tone had changed. After she left the office, I had a talk with my staff and told them that I was not happy with what I had just seen. I told them that from now on, when an elderly person seems confused or needs a few extra minute, to treat them as they would want another doctor's office to treat their own parents. I expect nothing less for my patients.