Aged & Elder Care with a Registered Nurse

Watch the full episode

Listen to the full episode

Thank you to our sponsor

🙏 CSIRO ON Innovation Program

Sooner or later, many of us will face a confronting question: is it time for Mum, Dad or a grandparent to get more long-term support? Aged care can feel overwhelming, emotional and full of unknowns, but it is far more than a “nursing home.”

In this honest conversation, host Lucy Lin sits down with registered nurse and Care Window co-founder Fiona Symons, who explains what aged care really looks like today. From support at home to residential care, while unpacking loneliness, dementia, family decisions, nursing, and the technologies helping older people stay connected to the ones they love.

Together, Lucy and Fiona explore:

• What nurses really do in hospitals and aged care, and why they are essential clinical decision-makers, advocates and educators

• Fiona’s career pivot from law to nursing, and how both careers centre on helping people navigate difficult systems

• When families may need to consider aged care, including after falls, mobility changes, stroke, dementia or cognitive decline

• The differences between home care, assisted living and residential aged-care facilities

• What daily life in a modern aged-care home can look like

• Loneliness and social isolation among older people, including why being surrounded by people does not always mean feeling connected

• Gender stereotypes in nursing, the invisible emotional labour of care, and the nursing workforce challenge

• How technology can support, not replace, human care

• The story behind Care Window, a simple, dementia-friendly video-calling device Fiona co-founded with her brother after their father entered residential aged care

• AI in healthcare, digital literacy, and the future of aged care innovation

Fiona’s central message is simple: aged care is not as scary as people think, but families need to talk about it before a crisis forces the conversation.

If you are caring for ageing parents, supporting a loved one with dementia, considering home care or residential aged care, working in healthcare, or interested in the future of health technology, this episode is for you.

With special thanks to the CSIRO ON Innovation Program for sponsoring this important episode! 🙏

Support Our Podcast:

💙 If you find this podcast valuable, consider keeping the podcast lights on and helping us cover some of our video and audio editing and operational costs: https://www.paypal.me/lucylin007007

☕ Or buy me a coffee (or three! :-): https://buymeacoffee.com/lucylin

Chapters:

00:00 Aged & Elder Care Introduction

01:42 Meet Fiona Symons

02:58 Lawyer to Nurse Career Pivot

07:45 Law Skills in Nursing

10:07 What Nurses Really Do

19:29 Healthcare Burnout and Staff Shortages

25:03 Gender Bias in Nursing

29:27 When to Move into Aged & Elder Care

35:48 Home Care and Assisted Living

41:12 Inside Aged Care Homes

44:44 Understanding Social Isolation

52:47 Care Window Introduction

57:15 The Realities of Founder Life

01:03:27 Quick Fire Career Skills

01:08:05 AI Tech Future Healthcare

01:10:58 Reframing Aged Care Family Conversation