On the mountain. (usc) How does it feel when older people's hands shake while writing, when their field of vision is narrow or when peeling apples or climbing stairs is difficult? This can be simulated, as the participants in the training seminar for nursing assistants at the ISE language and vocational training center were able to find out. Representatives of the job center and employment agency also found out more about it, in a self-experiment, so to speak.
This is the fifth course for the training of nursing assistants that the Amberg ISE vocational school offers to job seekers, arranged by the job center and the employment agency. The European Social Fund (ESF) is once again helping to finance the nine-month course. 16 women and five men, including an asylum seeker from Iraq, have the ambition to acquire the qualifications to become geriatric care assistants. “I would like to thank the German people for taking me in,” the young Iraqi explained to ISE Managing Director Peter Blendowski about the motivation for his participation.
The head of the job center, Sonja Schleicher, together with her job placement team leader, Rainer Liermann, found out about the course content and the use of the age simulation suit. For the first time, the government of the Upper Palatinate made this available to course participants free of charge for several days. “This allows our course participants to empathize with the problems of old age,” explained course leader Thomas Klein. Promoting and supporting old people in their mobility as part of self-care is part of qualification module 1 in this course.
The guests, including employees of the Amberg Employment Agency, took advantage of the testing opportunity to find out how the suit helps simulate the various problems associated with aging. The fibrating gloves powered by electricity, for example, mediate the tremors that occur in people suffering from Parkinson's disease. This is also noticeable when writing. Sonja Schleicher tried – with great difficulty – to peel an apple. Bandages on the wrist and knee joints give an idea of the effect of their stiffening. This also makes climbing stairs difficult.
Special glasses make it clear to a test person that the field of vision is restricted to the side, up and down. The tinted lens makes what is visible slightly blurry. Finally, earmuffs partially attenuate the ambient noise and partially filter out high frequencies, which limits the perception of women's and children's voices in particular.
At the end of her visit, Sonja Schleicher encouraged the course participants to persevere until the exam in April next year. A social profession is something very nice and, very importantly, the prospect of a permanent job after successful participation is good.
