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Barb: Like the book, "All I know I Learned in Kindergarden", I learned most of what I know about dealing with PD here on the list and at home with my PWP, Neal. These are my suggestions for telling nursing students about PD. They will be lucky to have your knowledge and experience to guide them. Just talk to them, and have a good time and they will too. When/if the time comes that my husband must be placed in care facility, or have nursing care at home, I would want those responsible to: 1. Be aware that his ability to function can vary widely from day to day and from hour to hour. There is no standard day when PD is advanced. Some days my husband is fairly mobile much of the time and is able to get up out of bed or chairs without help, can walk without support and can skip a nap. The next day he often is unable to do any of those things, must be helped with everything, is wheelchair bound, and requires naps. Sometimes these swings in ability to move will change from morning to afternoon. Some days medications do not seem to work at all... as though they stopped off somewhere on the way to the intestine. 2. From what I've learned here on the List, no two PD patients present the same symptoms. There really isn't a simple textbook model for nursing students to follow. Some have dementia as well as movement disorders and others do not. Some are very depressed, others are not. Some respond to medications well, others do not. Some have their PD complicated by other medical problems. Some eat well and others may require a PEG to prevent aspiration and pneumonia. Some cannot speak, others have normal voices. There often is a frequent urgent need to urinate, with little production resulting. In other words, the PD patient can be a real problem for busy nursing staff. 3. PWPs typically take a lot of different medications with rather complex timing problems that need to be observed on an individual basis. It does not work well with the pattern of medication dispensing where every patient's meds are dispensed, then wheeled around for delivery on a set schedule. PD patients do not do well when the legal window for dispensing medication may be an hour on either side of the time set. 4. Nursing students should be aware that episodes of dementia or hallucinations with PD may be caused by medication overdose or by med interaction problems, rather than an organic problem, and should notify the neurologist. 5. PD patients or their dedicated, caregivers may be better informed about many aspects of PD than some medical personel, and their suggestions and concerns should be taken seriously and with respect. 6. Stress of any kind worsens PD symptoms in direct proportion to its strength. Not all family members or caregivers are good for patients. Steps should be taken to minimize toxic contacts whenever possible. That's enough for a start. Give them the word, Barb Martha Rohrer CG for Neal, 77/12 mrohrer\2ix.netcom.com