Miren Fuertes Arrizabalaga, formerly of the University of Navarra, has given a session to third year students on how to "Accompany the elderly from another perspective". Fuertes Arrizabalaga is manager of ReSanté-Vous, a multidisciplinary team of 30 therapists specialized in gerontology and especially in non-pharmacological accompaniment whose humanistic vision is developed in nursing homes, in homes and actions aimed at raising awareness among other groups.

After an introduction on neurodegenerative disorders in the elderly, Miren presented the instructions and pillars of Humanitude, Philosophy and techniques applied to geriatric care, which has been implemented in France since the 1990s and which privileges the link between the health care provider staff and the elderly person.

From this perspective of care, Fuertes Arrizabalaga assured that: "Despite Alzheimer's disease or other pathologies that affect cognitive abilities, the elderly person continues to have the same need for relationships withothers".

Miren also presented to the students projects and intervention programs carried out by elderly people in various gerontological centers and piloted by the ReSanté-Vous team. In this case, the goal was to remind the students of the importance of stimulating the preserved abilities of the residents and the undeniable fact that, despite pathologies, years, deficits and impairments, there is always life.

Nursing Care for the Elderly in the School

Nuria Esandi, professor and manager of the subject Nursing Care for the Elderly at School, commented that "the speaker was very engaging for the students and professionals who attended the session as Humanitude has a approach very close to the one we work with at School". "I loved the concept and the idea of care that allows the person to feel like a person. The relationship with our patients, how we get to know them, how we look at them and communicate with them makes all the difference," she says.

At the end of the session, the nursing students were able to experience what it feels like to be "a few years older". goal They were able to try out the aging simulator suit, a pedagogical tool , which aims toraise awareness of the changes that occur due to aging and the effects of some common pathologies at this stage of life.