Discussion
“take a walk in my shoes” has provided new data regarding nursing student and health care employee participant responses to simulation of the aging process. Through this project, a better understanding of how to affect individuals’ empathy toward older adults was realized by the faculty and students. This projects has the potential to be used in multiple settings. The main obstacle to incorporating the project is the cost of the simulation equipment.
The goals of the “take a walk in my shoes” were met. Students gained experience in serving in th nurse educator role while also increasing their knowledge of older adults. All students took part in educating participants at simulation stations and engaged in educating activities. Although anxiety concerning educating health care employees was initially expressed, the students shared a sense of accomplishment at the completion of the project. Students reported increased knowledge of older adults as a result of preparing to educate others. During debriefing meetings with faculty, students discussed the effectiveness of teaching as a learning method. One student stated, “in order to teach something, you really have to learn it first.”
Student journal entries reflected increased empathy toward older adults. As a consequence of this experience, student participants will use their newfound awareness and increased empathy. They willthen have the opportunity to continue to educate others in their workplace as professionals and encourage coworkers to “take a walk” in others’ shoes, also encouraging empathy. A student participant stated in his journal, “I plan to take this experience and share it with my coworkers, family, and friends and try to make them understand the elderly population in a new way…I am certain that it will leave a lasting impression as I progress in my nursing career.”
The most exciting aspect of this project is that the students learned. The students had an opportunity to give back to the community by providing the in-services to local community agencies. Furthermore, the senior nursing students were able to interact with health care workers already in the field in similar and conjoined disciplines. They were able to look within themselves as health care providers and reflect on their perceptions on aging and caring for older adults.