Geriatric nursing

• April 26, 2024

Adapt to the changes of the older adult is not easy for those who are in this stage of life, nor for the family and friends who support them; therefore, there is a branch of the specialized nursing in the care of old age. These professionals are characterized by their great vocation and studies on the subject.

The Catholic University of Chile, defines the purpose of geronto-geriatric nursing as: helping the elderly and their caregivers to face the aging process, understanding it as a natural and adaptive process and intervening in maximizing their sources of power. Emphasizing that the sources of power are physical strength, the psychological and social reserve, the concept of self and self-esteem, energy, knowledge, motivation and beliefs.

Likewise, the Spanish Society of Geriatric and Gerontological Nursing highlights some of the competences that nurses must have in this branch.

It will be necessary that the nurse:

1.- Be responsible for the care process, which is capable of guaranteeing individual attention to the elderly person, using a systematic and organized method, assessing their needs, limitations, resources and possibilities of autonomous functioning. To be able to plan activities jointly with the elderly person and his family, that allow him to maintain or recover the greater degree of autonomy to which he may choose, evaluating the results of his intervention. 2.- Develop activities for the prevention of the disease or related problems taking into account the situations of fragility in which the majority of elderly people find themselves, identifying situations of risk or the follow-up of treatments in chronic situations and personal help in the process die. 3.- Participate in interdisciplinary teamwork to offer and provide comprehensive care, defining and formulating its specificity in the care of the elderly, assuming the role that corresponds to it in each circumstance, exchanging and contributing to other professionals opinions, knowledge and experiences in any field of action. 4.- Carry out the continuous analysis of your specific activity, through research, to improve the quality of care provided and fostering training in the field of gerontology, among nurses, caregivers and other social groups. 5.- Take responsibility for their decisions and actions, focusing their professional practice on respect for the elderly person and their family, and take measures to preserve them from risks and help them overcome health difficulties, adjusting decisions and behaviors to the bioethical principles of beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy and justice.

Video Medicine: Geriatric Nursing Study Tips | How to Study for Care of Older Adult in Nursing School (April 2024).