Recognition and Diagnosis of Dementia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Recognition and Diagnosis of Dementia - Essay Example Normal changes in elderly people are that they have slower thinking and problem-solving processes, may not pay close attention and concentrate like they used to, and have a harder time recalling people or events that occurred in their lives (White et al., 2014; Patient, 2014). Other typical issues are that they may take time trying to find the right word and have some signs of forgetfulness, but still have the same personalities and still remember important events and conversations.  Dementia, however, comes in a number of packages, with occasional overlays between two or more diagnosis. For example, in less common forms of dementia, there is Pick’s Disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease, Parkinson’s Dementia, or Lewy Body Dementia. In a combination of Pick’s Disease, which tends to be more common in women, and Lewy Body Dementia, an elderly female can have hallucinations about things that are happening or she thinks are happen ing, and she can also become extremely fearful of someone when there was no cause for that thinking process (White et al., 2014).   Therefore, it is essential to have a diagnosis made so appropriate treatment can be started and the elderly can live a more healthy and happy life.  Families may see the first signs of dementia but not fully understand what it is (Jeffries & Agrawal, 2009). A primary care physician (PCP), however, may see the same symptoms and realize that tests need to be made to determine for sure what is happening. Yet, in a growing society of elderly people.

Reflection paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 37

Reflection paper - Essay Example It is important for me to know who I am and to acknowledge my identity. It also helps me to determine my strengths and weaknesses. This was the most interesting yet most difficult lesson to let sink in. Though I know that self-concept is an essential part of life, it is hard to look at your own strengths and weaknesses. I know now what some of those are and the areas that are my weaknesses are those that I can work on and learn from. It is not as simple as looking at yourself in the mirror but more like looking at yourself under a microscope and sometimes what you see is difficult. That is also where I had several â€Å"aha† moments. It sounds narcissistic to only acknowledge what I learned about myself but it is difficult to build on anything else in communication without acknowledging my own strengths and weaknesses in life. The HURIER method was also a great thing to learn because it helped me learn more about listening. Sometimes I find myself busy and thinking about other things that I have to do that I sometimes may drift off and think about other things when I am in the middle of a conversation or even in class. I may be hearing someone else but I am not listening. This lesson helped me to realize I need to stop what I am doing and listen or the translation of what I hear can be completely different than the message I was supposed to be hearing. I know that I need to go through the steps of hearing, understanding, remembering, interpreting, evaluating and responding, hence the acronym. In any conversation or giving an answer in class, I have to actually hear and process the message in order to give an appropriate response to what it is I have heard. I think it is a tool that I use without thinking about it but actually seeing it in a logical organizational form makes it easier to remind myself that I need to really think things through before responding. The elements that make me a bad