Geriatric nursing is a specialized field of nursing that deals with the proper care and hospitalization services to geriatric or aged patients. Specialized and distinct nursing procedures are needed in dealing with aged individuals as they require greater and more sensible attention.
Needless to say, geriatric patients are more complex with regards to their attitude. Thus, in attending to them special procedures and guidelines should be observed. Similarly, proper training should also be given to nurses to ensure that geriatric patients are properly taken care of.
Geriatric medication also differs from those of regular patients as some geriatric patients have a tendency change their behavior upon given medication. In addition, multiple medications which are prevalent in most geriatric patients could result into side effects and other secondary effects. The elderly people should be taken care of in a way that they can enjoy or at least appreciate the effort of the attending nurse.
Nurses who are in the field of geriatric nursing should be oriented not just on the proper nursing procedures but as well as in other determinants and factors that affect or has influenced the nature and behavior of the geriatric patient. Hence, the following are some of the factors and determinants that are crucial in geriatric nursing procedures.
Culture
A geriatric patient’s culture plays an important role in determining how to properly treat and care for them. Culture refers not just to the cultural heritage that goes within a person’s nationality. Nevertheless, culture refers to how the geriatric patient deals with particular things or circumstances.
Older patients tend to see things differently – they have been brought up into a different more conservative culture.
Family Concerns
Family concerns, issues and problems are all heavy influences to a person especially to a geriatric patient’s behavior. Old people are basically more irritable and such family concern can spark negative reactions that will eventually manifest in the way they deal with other people particularly attending nurses and other medical staff.
Psychological Factors
Older people tend to be more sensitive to their environment. Moreover, they are somewhat nostalgic and behave in a manner that sometimes goes against the accepted norms. These psychological factors should be examined and the nurse must adapt his/her geriatric procedure to the needs and specifications of the geriatric patient’s situation.
By giving consideration to the factors listed above, a proper geriatric procedure can be constructed. In the field of geriatric nursing, nurses and other medical staff should always display a greater sense of care and understanding.
