In trying to outrun Father Time, few people would willingly tack on an extra 50 years to their age, but Molly Trauten voluntarily changed from a 25-year-old graduate student to an 85-year-old resident of three Maine nursing homes this past summer.

As a student of Miami University's master of gerontological studies program, Trauten fulfilled two dozen of the degree's internship hours looking at society's aging population by becoming a nursing home resident herself.

"We read so much about long-term care, but not a lot of it is from the resident's perspective. I really wanted to know what it is like to live in a nursing home," Trauten said.

The second student in this program, Trauten touched base with the mother of this brain child Dr. Marilyn Gugliucci, director of geriatric education and research at the University of New England. There is thought to be no other program in the country to match Gugliucci's, but Trauten's experience added some unique spice to the already innovative program.

Someone else's shoes

To fit Miami's stipulations, the time span of the experience was bumped up from two weeks to 12, and Trauten also was the first person to actually live as a full-time resident, not just make daily visits to the facility.

As Gugliucci pointed out, "The best way to learn is to walk in someone else's shoes," and to put things into perspective, Molly just ran a marathon.

Since no funds are exchanged in this program, having a student living in their facility is quite a commitment on the part of the nursing home staff, since it costs more than $200 per day. So with the extensive cooperation of these staff members, this program is an immense opportunity for participants both financially, as well as intellectually.

"The program is valuable for medical students who are interested. It's not for everybody, but I think it would open a lot of med student's eyes to the other side of care, what it is like to be a patient. I think some of Marilyn's goals are to increase sympathy and have students learn what it is like to be dependent on other people," Trauten said.

Given acceptance

She met with the charge nurse and social worker of every facility and filled out all the paperwork that a resident would normally undertake. Gugliucci acted as the Power of Attorney, and Trauten was asked all the typical questions about her eating patterns and health history.

Residents are not informed when new people move into their building or hallway, so they were not told that Molly was coming or why she was there. But, the residents did not ask many questions; rather, they accepted Trauten's acquaintance and enjoyed her company with no strings attached.

Although for most of her resident life, Trauten lived in a single room that was most often in the skilled unit of the facility where patients are sent to rehabilitate, she did have a companion for a brief time that helped her through her first two nights.

Trauten spoke with a happy air about her 90-year-old roommate in saying.

"She worked night shifts for almost her entire working life, so she didn't really conform to sleeping at night. She was up almost all night for the two nights I was with her. I felt comforted by her, and I think she did a little by me as well," Trauten said.

The young woman went on to establish a lot of friendships throughout her stay that will not quickly be forgotten.

"In each facility, I found a couple of individuals, usually people I lived near. I just gravitated to certain people, and they were drawn to me. It is like my life now; I was drawn to certain people and not to others," she said.

Trauten was immersed 24 hours a day in the lifestyle of a resident. She ate all her meals with fellow residents, including the common puréed foods.

Looks of pity

She attended the A.D.L. — activities of daily living — programs that the facilities offered, such as watercolor classes and modified Tai Chi and pilates classes.

At one point, Trauten went through a fake diagnosis, used a walker and wore the tubing that is usually hooked up to an oxygen tank, serving to bring a whole new understanding to her experience.

"I got to select my condition. A lot of older adults have Congestive Heart Failure and COPD. I couldn't know what it was really like, and I didn't want something that had so many symptoms. I wanted something that I could kind of get a feel for what it was about," Trauten said.

Her breathing tubes were not attached to any sort of oxygen tank, and in fact, the cord was usually tied around her belt loops. However, when people from outside the resident community came into the building, the looks she drew from them was perhaps one of the most powerful aspects of her experience.

"The reaction in their eyes was nothing but pity. They weren't looking down to see if there was a tank or anything. Is that the way that nursing home residents get looked at? Do other residents have to deal with that pity in their eyes?" Trauten asked.

'No typical day'

She did not have many visitors of her own, but the families of several other residents made it a point to stop by and say hello. There were never really any moments of isolation, even though Trauten refrained from using her cell phone or e-mail during the majority of the 12 weeks, since these are technological luxuries that residents wouldn't normally be able to enjoy.

"There really was no typical day for me. One thing that came out of the experience is the way I thought about time. My days were marked by meals and shift changes. I didn't pay much attention to the clock like I do all the time here. I spent a lot of time just listening and hanging out with residents," she said.

"Molly matured from doing this program this summer. Her focus changed while she was going through this project," Gugliucci said. "She became very sensitive and aware of the larger issues that are associated with aging from living with older people. Just that she took the time to understand that says a lot about who she is as a person. It would be very easy for her to just stick to her books. She really lived the life of an older adult and embraced it."

With little time to process her experience without interruption from outside sources, Trauten has summed her feelings up in the words "indescribable, wonderful."

"One of the best lessons I learned was to enjoy the moment, and if it is gone, then it is fine," Trauten said.