I volunteer at a hospital. After bout an hour, the staff don't really know what to do with me so they just let me shadow them on obs (W/E!)
I feel so out of place when an elderly patient is speaking about their loose bowel movements in front of me, a little sixth former.
I can't even look in the patients' eyes... :
Just make little small talk. I've found that elderly people are usually appreciative for really any social contact. They're not picky like teens!
When they talk about the good old days, just say things like "really?" "What was that like" "That must've been fun"