;
;
I
V t
. . nypavw SAStt'wa
To The Pest
. Durham - Swaddled in Mar'lrW;
t -Umi leans forwpMin W trbeelk
Vf|hatr and strains hia, eyes to make ...
Wit the identity of the whlte-coated
figure hurrying past.
“Excuse me, could I get a drink of >
water?” he asks timidly.
“Be right with you. Chief,” comes
the answer from the white Mur that
passes without slowing
Vj A nearby woman, unable to move •
her wheelchair out of the sun’s rays
streaming through the window,
loosens the blanket that Is wrapped 1
7~v*_• ■ •»> . »■
ney, uranama, comes a quick
voice from behind as the blanket Is
pulled back around her. “Didn't 1
* tel! you not to puU your blanket ottf x
Now if you can*tMtove, 9re*H have
to put you in restraJHtx.’V ‘wT:
Two more figures In white coats
stand within easy bearing distance
of the blanket wrapped pair in
whWH*airs, ft;?
“1 tell you, 1 hope they tost shoot
It sounds like a nightmarish vi
sion of that time of life we ptofer to
A^ofas-tis^W****
Tor rising second-year students in*
the Duke University School djtfe
; dicine, it’s an experience Oat
dramatizes some of society's alti
tudes toward the elderly dad an-''
courages students to examine thgir
own attitudes toward the aghg pro
cess. ; r
Developed by nursing educators
at a Veterans Administration hos
pital several years ago, "Into
’Aging" is a simulation game that
lets participants experience same af
the struggles that confront the el
derly. At Duke, the game has-been
incorporated into an introductory
clinical medicine course - a unique
approach in medical education, ac
cording to Dr. Harvey J. Cohan,
professor of medicine and director
pf the Center for the Study of Aging
and Human Development.
“It’s similar to some types of
training given elsewhere,”
said, “but as far as I know It’s never
been dene for medical student or
physician groups.
& “The most unusual part is that It’s
being done as a pert pf our medical
students’ core curriculum. Of
itourse, there are geriatric medicine
electives, but they ranch relatively
few students. We are able to reach
virtually every student with this sort
of application," he said.
A small group of students perti
ciaptes in each session of the game,
which is administered
'disciplinary
Veterans
Center in _
trainers includes tdW
In Duke’s aging center - Laura I
Clarence Kirkpatrick
Marine Pvt. Clarence Kirkpa
trick. son of Maxine Broome at 9SU
Snow White Larte, Charlotte, has
completed recruit training at Ma
rine Corps Recruit Depot. Parris
Island. S.C.
During the 11-week training cycle,
Kirkpatrick was taught the basics of
battlefield survival. He was intro
duced to the typical daily routine
that he will experience during Ms
enlistment and studied the personal .
and professional standards tradi- *
Mortally exhibited by Marines
He participated in an active phy
sical conditioning program and
gained proficiency in a variety of ,/
military skills, including first aid.
rifle marksmanship and dose order
drill Teamwork and ssif-disdpftne
were emphasized throughout the
training cycle.
A 1985 graduate of Myers Park
High School, he Joined the Marine
Corps in July. 1965.
i.1
Research Education and Clinical
Center' (GRECC);. and Donald
Davfr, M.S.W., A.C.S.W., a GRECC
- social worker. ’ ^
At the beginning of the gafne,
students are assisted an age be
tween 75 and 99 - their agefor the
remainder of the game. To encour
age them to think about their own
aging, the students cboois a resi
dence, three favorite posesskms and
five personal characteristics they
wish to have in their old age. Slips of
paper and plastic chips symbolise
these items as well as each stu
dent’s retirement incodte and ss* .
■ \
The object of the game ta, to
remain as independent as possible
and retain personal identity. The
students, wearing special goggles
and earplugs to dull their senses of
afcbt and hearing, begin at the
“indepedent living" stage. By roll
ing dice and .ckawing cards that
represent, va^yus iifo events, they
hare experiences that * force them
into the senri-deptsment living” or
'‘totally-dependent” stages of the
game.
Same students, through contact
with older family members or «sHt
in a nursing home, may already
have same knowledge about depen
dent lifestyles. Put even they are
frequently surprised whan they bice
some aspects of dependent living
themselves, McVeysakL
3; ,“For most students, fit’s the first
opportunity they’ve had to think
what It will be like when they’re
okier,”said McVey, whose exposure
to the game at a conference in UBl
Partly responsible for its adop-"!
tion at Duke. “ThnyYe just starting
their careers, and we ash them to
think about what it will be tike when
they’re retired.’' r; •* •'.•» .
'Although the gama emphaaiiea
the bleaker aspects of aging, dis
cussion groups following each ses
sion of the game emphasize that
aging doesn’t always involve the
totally dependent lifestyle experi
enced by students.'^ ’ ^ - t / 1
are very functional," McVeysakL
“The' game was never meant to
show that everyone wtll wentually
that certainly the potential.
km^nadriy It. would their
to uieir pAtittits. *.
^IdfK^nd Joseph [
reminded them that we sis living In a nation with two malor
for suggesting that Black people shtxild vote for President
Reagan. Their emotionalism blinded them to the fact that I
said register not vote Republican. Well, the elections are over,
and I continue to hear Black people saying that the ""
|S ln9tmltlvv t0 *Be plight of '
CCrUH5ci 3 for ^IqcIc 'iSfl
■nvisTvvC group* YMi tnf 31^ &sty\x\Q thpy
interest groups’* and if the party is to regainfapntoanaa a
Viable force in the political arena, then it must pull away from
a^e?with thta wherefdocs ^JSZ B*aCk * ~ ” “
Pettiest s^tuditn.
the apple tn the eye^fbo^l^rt^tobe taken seriously by T
the Democrats and courted by the Republicans. ~
■1»
it
!