Reflection

The most memorable patient encounter in the course was a family practice dealing with more adults and geriatrics in the central valley, Ripon, California. There were rare PEDs and women's health, and most patients were Caucasians. However, 80% of the people were educated. What made the encounter memorable was the exceptional health care needed by older adults and hence the need for geriatrics-trained clinicians. For instance, in most cases, older adults develop overlapping health issues, requiring multiple diagnoses, treatment, and management. The encounter also provided new insight on how to deal with older adults with various comorbid issues, cognitive, visual, or hearing impairment, and complex family issues (Nipp, Subbiah & Loscalzo, 2021). Therefore, I learned that geriatric clinicians must consider multiple factors while caring for patients, including health history, family issues, and psychological and mental well-being.

However, if allowed to care for older patients again, there are several things that I would do differently. First, in addition to offering evidence-based services, I would focus on creating healthy interactions with the patients during treatment to enhance their experience and recovery process (Nipp, Subbiah & Loscalzo, 2021). Second, I would also consider the patient's objectives for the treatments and their definition of quality life to address psychological, physical, mental, and spiritual needs (Nipp, Subbiah & Loscalzo, 2021). Therefore, if I practice geriatric care again, I would focus more on offering patient-based care by enhancing patient interaction and considering their personal goals for the treatment.

 I learned that geriatric clinicians need to consider multiple factors while caring for patients, including health history, family issues, and psychological and mental well-being. However, if I practice geriatric care again, I would focus more on offering patient-based care by enhancing the interaction with the patients and considering their personal goals for the treatment to enhance their psychological, mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing.

References

Nipp, R. D., Subbiah, I. M., & Loscalzo, M. (2021). Convergence of geriatrics and palliative care to deliver personalized supportive care for older adults with cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 39(19), 2185.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8260927/