Geriatric Nursing Assistant
The main goal of the everyday work of geriatric nurses is the care for the elderly. They focus on the development and implementation of treatment plans for chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, respiratory disorders and etc. In addition, the job of geriatric nursing assistant involves educating, supporting and counseling families of elderly patients who suffer from acute and chronic conditions.
It’s very important to underline that sometimes geriatric nurses deliver in-home treatment to patients who require regular medical assistance but can care for themselves predominantly on their own. Geriatric nurses can find job in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and community health centers.
Typical responsibilities of a geriatric nurse are the following:
- Assisting physicians during exams and procedures
- Establishing a patient care plan and setting health goals
- Performing patient medical tests in-home or in a medical office
- Administering medications to patients based on a care plan
- Teaching family members about a patient’s condition and how to promote self-care skills
Geriatric Nurse Care
If you plan to work as a geriatric nurse or geriatric nursing assistant in future, then you should consider that a geriatric nursing career includes not only numerous rewards, but a number of challenges. No matter what the superior care they provide, geriatric nurses will endure patient deaths. Besides they will probably encounter patients with diminishing mental capacities who lose their ability to make independent decisions about their health.
As a rule, geriatric nurses are registered nurses (RN) who have completed specialized training or certification in geriatric care or an advanced gerontological nursing degree.You can start your geriatric nursing career with a 4-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. Besides nursing schools offer Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degrees and post-master’s programs for clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) looking to focus their career on gerontological care. MSN degrees take 2 years to complete.
Certification for Geriatric Nurse
The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) offers 3categories of certification for geriatric nurses. There is 1 for RNs and 2 for advanced practice nurses (APNs). If you want to qualify for certification, then you should hold a current, active RN license, have graduated from an accredited nursing school program and meet specific experience criteria:
- Gerontological Nurse Specialist—requires 2 years of practice as an RN, 2,000 hours of practice and 30 hours of continuing education in gerontological nursing in the last 3years.
- Clinical Nurse Specialist in Gerontological Nursing—your CNS in gerontology program must include 500 hours of faculty-supervised clinical practice and course work in advanced health assessment, advanced pharmacology and advanced pathophysiology.
- Gerontological Nurse Practitioner— your gerontological NP program must include 500 hours of faculty-supervised clinical practice and course work in: advanced health assessment, advanced pharmacology and advanced pathophysiology.
In addition, training across the life span in health promotion, disease prevention, differential diagnosis and disease management is required.
