What are the objectives and functions of geriatric nursing?
Geriatric nursing is concerned with assessing, planning, and implementing nursing care for the elderly. In other words, it works to offer the best attention with high quality of service to this zone of the population and its immediate environment. And what are your goals? What functions does it perform? And where do geriatric nurses work? We will answer these questions, and remember that you can ask us your questions without commitment.
What is geriatric nursing?
This speciality, which works with general nursing, cares for the elderly while maintaining their quality of life in their environment and community. Likewise, geriatric nursing offers us the opportunity to experience good ageing with maximum functionality. This improves your work. With this discipline, professionals are prepared for teaching, supervision, research, management, advice or leadership in the care of the elderly.
What goals does geriatric nursing pursue?
The objectives pursued by geriatric nursing are focused on meeting the needs of the elderly. They achieve this in different areas and are the following:
- Goals of geriatric nursing
- Promote comprehensive care
- A senior nurse works with essential values. Such as the dignity of the elderly, their well-being and quality of life, autonomy, etc.
- Dynamic view of the ageing process quality care
- The care plan. Organise, develop and implement an appropriate care plan for each person.
- Each person who ages do so differently. We are also different in old age. And taking it into account is essential in providing care and attention.
Functions of geriatric nursing
Geriatric nursing cares for a specific sector of the population, the elderly, with some particular problems and pathologies. Moreover, it promotes the health and well-being of the elderly. It supports family members in the immediate environment that works together with other professionals to achieve the objectives. The functions performed can be:
functions of geriatric nursing
Assistance
Geriatric nursing focuses on caring for older people individually and promotes self-care, promoting autonomy and delaying dependency situations.
manager
This function deals with the coordination of the nursing team and the writing of reports related to care. Similarly, the available resources (material and personal) are organised.
teacher
Teaching in this type of nursing tries to train and retrain nurses. It also considers the needs of professionals, the elderly and their families.
researcher
The professional participates in research projects in this and other disciplines.
With these functions, we have an idea of the quality of your work. We might be wrong in the image we have of nursing. Perhaps you imagine a nurse taking blood pressure, drawing blood or controlling medication. But her work goes further. It is a field that encompasses many functions and offers comprehensive care. So let’s take a look at where geriatric nurse practitioners can work.
Where can a senior nurse work?
The functions we have just seen are practised in different workplaces and environments. Geriatric nursing work encompasses a wide variety of options. And at the same time, this work is carried out as a team with other health and socio-health professionals. Therefore, its position is comprehensive and global and includes all areas of the person served. These are some of the work areas of this discipline:
Acute geriatric hospital units
These hospital units care for the elderly who are admitted for some ailment. This attention is specific and concrete for this part of society.
Geriatric day hospitals
In these centres, people are treated thoroughly. Through a team of different professionals, the recovery is carried out. The main objective is to ensure that the person does not lose functional autonomy.
Residences for the elderly
Residential centres for the elderly provide continuous care and attention. Once in the centre, the nurse assesses the person and creates a care plan. This includes taking constants, the necessary cures, medication, and control of medical appointments or attending the emergency room.
home care
Home care is reserved for cases where someone has physical problems leaving the house, for example, in the event of a temporary illness that prevents them from attending hospital check-ups. This work includes health care, prevention and health promotion.
Geriatric nursing is present in many fields. In addition to the above, assessment and evaluation teams, external consultations, psychogeriatrics unit, social health centres, etc. In short, nurses or geriatric nurses work in various groups, divisions or centres. They offer quality care focused on the elderly and their environment. Specialised care for the elderly.
