Geriatric nursing is the specialty that concerns itself with the provision of nursing services to geriatric or aged individuals.
This page tries to outline the state of art guidelines for geriatric care that are useful to a nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist who encounters aging person in practice. Due to their complexity, aged people always deserve personal attention. Nurses address physical, psycho social, cultural and family concerns as well as promoting health and emphasizing successful aging.
Life expectancy is rising at rates which call for the proper preparation of nurses to take good care of the rapidly increasing number of the aged.
It is important to distinguish changes involved with normal aging from changes attributable to pathophysiology. Alterations in the structure and function of multiple body system may affect an older person appearance, mobility and ability to fight off infections. Geriatric medications need to be managed so as to avoid too much use of medicine since this group receives a lot of medication if poor care is taken. Multiple medications can cause a variety of drug interaction in older people. Primary drug reaction occurs when one drug causes one side effect, secondary drug reaction occurs when one medication reacts with another. This is brought about by polypharmacy. Old people should be treated in ways that are of benefit and do no harm or as little harm as possible. Principle of assessment: data regarding biomedical, functional, psychological and social issues are obtained to help in planning and implementation of individual health care.