Students in Dr. Beth Tripi’s SWK212 class and their peers from two nursing classes shuffled around the Gallagher Center’s Multipurpose Room on March 6, attempting to complete a series of tasks in a matter of minutes. The tasks themselves were not difficult—writing a letter, tying a tie, making a paper airplane—but the students were wearing sunglasses and gloves with popcorn kernels in the fingertips and had placed additional kernels in their shoes to simulate the impairments experienced by people with Alzheimer’s and dementia. To make the work even more difficult, the students were not able to talk to one another, and radio static was broadcast loudly throughout the room. Andrea Koch, director of education and training at the Alzheimer’s Association of WNY, continuously urged them to hurry and finish their tasks, and would correct wrong actions without explaining what she was doing or why she was doing it.
The simulation allowed the students to experience the frustration, stress, humiliation, and anxiety of people with Alzheimer’s and dementia, gaining a better understanding of the challenges faced by these individuals and learning practical skills to care for them.
“We know that our social work students are likely to work with populations that will be impacted by Alzheimer's and other dementia diagnoses, and so educating them about this illness and ways to help clients facing this is crucial knowledge for our field,” said Dr. Tripi. “We also know that nurses are likely to encounter this as well, and so we invited the nursing students to join us. The simulation the Alzheimer's Association does is a unique and novel way for people to build empathy and understanding of what it is like to live with dementia. By engaging in this, our students will develop a greater capacity for intervening with community members with compassion and competency.”
The simulation hit close to home for Sofia Dimitriadis, a junior social work major from Toronto, Ontario, whose grandfather has dementia.
“It was really interesting to be able to learn how he was feeling day-to-day and what things that I did that I could have done differently to support him when he got agitated,” she said.
Connor Wood, a sophomore social work major from North Tonawanda, N.Y., said he learned a lot about Alzheimer’s and dementia and got “a better mindset of what it's like to go through these things.”
The session began with an introduction to the Alzheimer’s Association of WNY and the people it serves, as well as an overview of the disease’s impact on families and the community by Courtney Sipes, director of community engagement at the Alzheimer's Association. She noted that the disease kills more people than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined, and that the cost of care is typically not covered by health insurance, leaving family members to serve as caretakers for their loved ones, oftentimes being forced to reduce their work hours or quitting their jobs entirely to be available 24/7. She also explained the difference between Alzheimer’s and dementia, and shared the 10 warning signs of the disease.
“They did a good job explaining the details of a person who's dealing with Alzheimer's and how we can handle it,” said Jailyn Gillon, a junior social work major from Lockport, N.Y. “This was a great experience to learn about people with Alzheimer's and dementia.”
“I think the simulation was highly engaging and effective for our students,” said Dr. Tripi. “Simulations are a unique way to learn about the impact of illness or circumstances on populations we will work with by putting you in the position to experience for yourself what the problem feels like. In this case, students were provided environmental input, equipment, and tasks to complete that allowed them to feel what interacting with the world with a dementia diagnosis feels like, as well as a chance to build empathy and compassion that will influence interactions with this population in a positive way.”