It's okay if he bleeds, just use some toilet paper.

That was my advice as I prepared to shave my client's face today with a single blade disposable razor. I only needed two toilet paper squares, but in all honestly I probably didn't do the greatest job either as it is terrifying to shave someone's face with a blade so terribly crappy.

Today was my first day in the gerontological nursing setting. This term we have two clinical rotations, the other being in psychiatric nursing (Thursdays).

Moment of honesty: I have a strong aversion to working with elderly patients. It's nothing about them specifically, but its mostly because I don't like confronting the very real possibilities that occur as our bodies age. Luckily, medical research has made enormous strides in recent years that has shown us that a) significantly improved rehabilitation techniques following such events as falls and strokes and b) there is a ton of preventative medicine you yourself can engage in during your younger years to prevent diseases commonly associated with old age that don't need to be.

That being said, this term is my chance to begin assuaging my fears of aging and feeling more comfortable working with a population that will inevitably be in any aspect of medicine I choose to specialize in (I suppose with the exception of peds or maternity for obvious reasons).

My clinical site for gerontological nursing couldn't be more awesome: Pike's Place Market overlooking the sound. This not only enables some awesome window watching of ferries and barges floating by, but gives residents access to a plethora of walking adventures. The facility is very basic assisted living, so most of the patients are in relatively good health.

My morning started off with some basic wake-up prep work so that residents could make their way down to the cafe for breakfast (which is a popular meal among the elderly, nearly everyone I talked to said that breakfast was their favorite and that they've gained 20-30 pounds since moving in). During this wake-up prep work, I learned a couple of seemingly universal lessons:

• TED hose, or compression stockings, are terrifying to put on anybody but especially the delicate skin of the elderly. Especially if they are yelling at you that you don't know what you are doing and to get the regular nurse before you rip their skin off
• Some patients are very comfortable with their nakedness. One of the patients was just hanging out in his chair, free as you please and not a care in the world. Part of his care plan was to put lotion on his back because of dry skin and the other student nurse I worked with teased me because I lotioned him up before even putting his pants on. What a treat that must have been for him.

I spent a lot of time after this with my assigned patient who was recently admitted a couple of months ago after falling while working in his stand in the market. After he survived me showering and shaving him, we headed off to breakfast. He seems nice, but I think I was kind of driving him nuts as he is quiet and more private and I get very uncomfortable in silent situations. Oh well, I learned a lot about him and eventually let him read his paper in peace.

And that concluded my first day in gero. I survived, some of my fears have been lessened, and I think it should be an interesting term at both clinical sites!