• The Danish Secret to Happiness

    I wrote about a new initiative from Pfizer (getold.com) back in July 2014 that posts issues on positive aging. I checked the site recently to see if it was still active. It is and looking good. Here is one of their latest articles. GET OLD: FIVE LESSONS FROM HYGEE: THE DANISH SECRET TO HAPPINESS by Shelley…

  • Netflix Show Gets Aging Right

    I am thrilled that the third season of Netflix’s Grace and Frankie is finally here. As one of the first gerontological nurse practitioners to be certified by the ANA back in the 60s and now a 70-something woman, I am depressed that the very same stereotyping and dismissal of the aged I first encountered is…

  • WHY DO WE WRITE?

    Originally posted on Getting Older: Charting the Uncharted: I attended the book signing this past August. Farther Along, written by my friend and mentor, Carol Henderson, which told the stories of thirteen mothers (she is one of them), a bakers dozen as Carol points out, who had lost children at various ages. I was prepared…

  • Don’t Question the Doctor Part 2

    I posted last week about my friend Lois’ run in with a nasty doctor soon after she graduated nursing school in the 60s. Here is my story about working with a difficult physician that took place in the mid 80s. The medical director, Doctor X, sat me down in her office on my first day…

  • Don’t Question the Doctor

    My friend Lois and I were talking on the phone the other day. We both graduated from diploma nursing schools in the early 60s. It was a time when the nurse was considered the “handmaiden” of the physician. We played the Doctor-Nurse Game* and even stood up when a doctor entered a room. Feeling powerless…

  • Are You Glad You Became a Nurse?

    I found an interesting study regarding nurses’ satisfaction with their career choice. Note the respondents were middle-aged (45 – 64) and predominately female. Since my specialty is gerontology, I have included the comments made by three older nurses. Yes, Yes, I know they are all positive. I look forward to a study that includes younger…