Using the Generation Gap to Ease Chanages in Life Style

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship which developed between first-year nursing students and some elderly individuals in a nursing home. It is not intended to be a detailed research report, but a discussion of some observations made which would be interesting to investigate further, later. The first-year nursing students who visited the elderly in nursing homes obviously found it an enjoyable experience. This may have been due to satisfactory completion of a first-time "clinical" contact. However, in talking with the elderly and with the students, it became apparent that it was more than that. In fact, they had a number of experiences in common _ this being contrary to the commonly-held view that the young have little to share with the old.