EP79: What is Ageism?

Have you ever felt like someone discriminated against you because of your age? Maybe you didn't get that promotion because you were too young, or perhaps you felt like they didn't hire you because you were too old.  In either scenario, I doubt you ran down the road and told your friends because you had just been the victim of a "raging ageist".  In this episode of This is Getting Old podcast, we tackle the biggest problem with America's mindset about aging and the prejudices that today's current older adults face and generations to follow will too, unless we make some major cultural changes. Key points covered in this episode:  ✔️ In the next ten years, we all know we're going to have more older adults on the planet than children for the first time in human history. And we largely attribute that to the Boomers.  ✔️ Did you also know that two years ago, millennials took over as the largest generation? This year (2021), Millennials are beginning to turn 40, makingthem old enough to sue for age discrimination in the workplace. So this includes people like  Justin Timberlake, Eli Manning, Alicia Keys - anyone born before 1997. ✔️ Ageism is the only form of discrimination largely absent from our national dialogue around diversity and inclusion. While the other "-isms" split us up, it is a fact that aging is something that we're all doing.    ✔️ Ageism is also the only concept that we socially accept - and even project - onto ourselves. We have about 25 years to find the policies and solutions to make the world more age-friendly and eradicate ageism.  If you have questions, comments, or need help, please feel free to drop one-minute audio or video clip and email it to me at [email protected], and I will get back to you by recording an answer to your question.  About Melissa Batchelor, Ph.D., RN, FNP-BC, FGSA, FAAN: I earned my Bachelor of Science in Nursing ('96) and Master of Science in Nursing ('00) as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) from the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) School of Nursing (SON). I genuinely enjoy working with the complex medical needs of older adults. I worked full-time for five years as FNP in geriatric primary care across many long-term care settings (skilled nursing homes, assisted living, home, and office visits), then transitioned into academic nursing in 2005, joining the faculty at UNCW SON as a lecturer. I obtained my Ph.D. in Nursing and a post-master's Certificate in Nursing Education from the Medical University of South Carolina College of Nursing ('11). I then joined the faculty at Duke University School of Nursing as an Assistant Professor. My family moved to northern Virginia in 2015 and led to me joining the George Washington University (GW) School of Nursing faculty in 2018 as a (tenured) Associate Professor. I am also the Director of the GW Center for Aging, Health, and Humanities. Please find out more about her work at https://melissabphd.com/.