The introduction of medical students to gerontology and geriatrics.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to P Warschawski.
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Both the clinical and the experimental field of geriatrics are in need of an instrument to test the cognitive abilities of people aged 60 and above. By means of a pre-test of the new geriatric test-battery, those abilities, which generally decrease with age, are tested first in order to obtain a testability rating for a particular patient. The geriatric test-battery, which is based on a theory of a 4 dimensional intelligence clearly delineating the differential development of specific cognitive abilities into old age, allows a precise, differentiated assessment of the cognitive abilities of the elderly. Considering the particular characteristics of the old person, the geriatric test-battery was given a new form which minimizes the feeling of being threatened by the test and at the same time maximizes motivation. The geriatric test-battery is pleasant for both the patient and the tester, it is simple to administer, can easily be given to physically impaired or bedridden patients, and is not time consuming.
Within a very short time the non-demented, chronically hospitalized old person turns into a hospital-activity-oriented patient. He thereby gives up a considerablle part of his personality. In order to understand this process, special attention has to be paid to the intertwining of the dynamics of the chronic geriatric patient with the dynamics of the nursing staff. As a therapy experiment we have been conducting parallel talk-groups with patients and with their nursing staff for one year. As a result, the patients showed increased activity, increased dynamism, improved contact ability, increased interest in the outside world, and improved affect. The nursing staff also reported improvement of the group-patients' condition on the floor. With the nursing staff we found a reduction of the defensive mechanisms, a separation from old nursing-role definitions, acceptance and encouragement of the patients in their new role, and improved satisfaction with patient contact. On the other hand, the nursing staff expects more personal contact to come from the patients. The groups have shown to be useful and have to a large extent reached the therapy goals.