5 reasons to educate residents about their illnesses

5. We need to prepare ourselves for the boomers. 

While the current cohort of nursing home residents tends to view the medical team as the decision-makers, the upcoming baby boomer cohort is likely to demand a more active role in their healthcare. They will expect information about their diagnoses and treatment and to have educated discussions with their physicians and other team members. Currently, it’s our younger residents who are Googling their illnesses on their smartphones and laptops and looking for ways to join research studies; soon it will be almost all of them. LTC facilities looking to appeal to the coming boomers will benefit from determining now which resident education techniques work best for their facilities.

Coming soon: 7 Simple Methods to Educate Residents About their Diagnoses

Eleanor Feldman Barbera, PhD, is a speaker and consultant on psychological issues in long-term care, and author of the forthcoming book, The Savvy Resident's Guide: Everything You Wanted to Know About Your Nursing Home Stay But Were Afraid to Ask. For more information, visit Dr. Barbera's website, www.mybetternursinghome.com.