To many people, nursing means the chance to show others that someone out there cares about them. This is especially true of the elderly. Many of these people are often in the hospital, and they do not always have family close by that can come and see them. Sometimes they have no family left at all. All people deserve caring and compassion in their time of need, and none more so than those that do not have anyone close to them. While it is true that nurses are often very busy, being a nurse means making some extra time available to let these people know that they are not alone, and that someone is thinking of them. It may be the only bright spot in their day, and it gives them something to hang on to.
             One way that nurses can help their elderly patients is through spirituality, because it is something that older people tend to cling to more often than younger people. Some of this likely has to do with the idea that their time might be running short, but it is also likely related to the way that these people were raised and the generation gap that they have with young individuals. Even if a nurse is not particularly religious or does not share the elderly person's religion, there is still help that they can provide.
             Religious materials can be provided, there may be other patients that share a religion and would like to talk to one another, etc., and a nurse can help facilitate these kinds of things. However, religion is also what many people would consider a 'touchy' subject and therefore nurses must be careful and conscientious so as not to press their own beliefs too strongly. Nurses in the future will have to be even more aware of this as spirituality seems to be growing and how individuals feel about it, as spirituality, religion, and prayer can be considered to be among the list of 'alternative therapies' that are often being addressed today for elderly individuals, especially those that h...