Assessment Of Gerontology Paper

As the general population continues to age and grow, the nursing workforce is aging alongside. Approximately half of the current nursing workforce is apart of the baby boomer generation (Mion). RNs are eligible to retire at age 55, which will affect the majority of “baby boomer” nurses between 2005 and 2010 (Mion). According to the Nursing Management Aging Workforce Survey in 2006, “55% of surveyed nurses reported their intention to retire between 2011 and 2020” (Nursing Shortage). The demand for skilled nurses is growing at an exponential rate. According to information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the supply of nurses has been

Relocating into a senior care facilities can be a frightening experience for the aging population. Getting familiar with new surroundings, new organization structure, and new people that can cause anxiety to rise. For a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer individual, this experience can be traumatic. The fear of harassment, hostility, and neglect by healthcare providers and caretakers can keep LGBTQ people from seeking care until their health begins to critically decline. LGBTQ cultural competency training is highly recommended for healthcare professionals and social service organizations. The greatest barrier that prevents quality health care for LGBTQ people is the lack of competence among the healthcare professionals.

Despite many services being available to older adults such as: Older Americans Act (OAA), Medicare, Social Security Income many of these resources do not incorporate LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) issues. The intersectionality of ageing LGBT issues is incredibly necessary because of the disparities of socio-economic status and assisted care. In an article, Social, Economic, and Health Disparities Among LGBT Older Adults author Charles Emlet states that older adults are more vulnerable to poverty and 26 percent of adults ages 65 and older live below 200 percent the poverty level.

I chose a learning plan topic that would increase my nursing practice competency as a senior nursing student, would be relevant to my placement setting, would build on my knowledge obtained from completing NSE417 – Nursing Practice IV class and NSE407 – Nursing: Professional Issues and Trends class, and was approved by my Primary Preceptor and Faculty Advisor (FA). With a global trend of an increasing senior population and having a placement in a nursing home, it was important to choose a learning plan that focused on the challenges and trends in senior safety. My Overarching goal for my learning plan was to expand my knowledge and critical thinking skills related to expertly assessing and managing elder frailty in a long-term care setting by Tuesday, March 1, 2016. By completing this learning plan, I have fulfilled and demonstrated the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO)’s Continuing Competency Standard by performing a self-assessment of my knowledge, developing and implementing a learning plan, and evaluating the outcomes of the plan (CNO, 2002). Ultimately, the goal is to enhance geriatric care at my placement setting and advance my competency in delivering safe, ethical, competent client-centred care.

Have you ever been to the doctor and don't quite understand what the provider is telling you, or are you a healthcare worker and you don't understand your patients? Should the healthcare provider get diversity training or should they maybe learn new languages? More than ever before, healthcare professionals are subjected to dealing with a number of immense and different cultural diversities. While diversity is often a term used to refer specifically to cultural differences, diversity applies to all the qualities that make people different. Diversity requires more than knowing about individual differences and it key for overcoming cross-cultural barriers in healthcare.

General assessment of Mr. McKay raises a few red flags that may indicate potential elder mistreatment. Dried stool and dirty sheets are noted on more than one occasion. This reveals that Mr. McKay is not getting adequate and timely care and the care takers are neglecting to tend to him on a more frequent basis. Pre albumin and albumin are used to interpret individual’s nutritional status. Mr. McKay’s pre-albumin was within a normal range with 16.0 to 35.0 mg per dL being the norm (Beck & Rosenthal, 2002). His albumin level, used to monitor long term nutritional changes was below the norm. However, these levels are dependent on other factors like hydration status as well as kidney function and are not as sensitive to

A population health APN may potentially follow children and adults from varying genders, races, and ethnicity, an APN has been well trained in the management of a diverse population. Understanding and including one’s own beliefs and values, reading, examining, and mingling with these populations, also prepares any professional nurse. Even though she receives support from others, she frequently experiences animosity from physicians, noting never truly feeling treated as a colleague, in the actual sense.

We live in a very diverse nation and overcoming challenges related to cultural beliefs and preferences is a very common obstacle for health care workers today. In an article in The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing cultural diversity is defined as being more than just race,

In my counseling the older adult class we discussed in great detail the different types of culture, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc. and how it affects the way we as health care providers of helpers should approach a person. I’ve learned in my ongoing time here at CMC that there are all kinds of diversity within the healthcare field, amongst the doctors, case managers, nurse practitioners, registered nurses and others caregivers. There is also a lot of diversity within the patients’ in the hospital. Some patients’ come from within the community and some may just be visiting or coming from surrounding communities. Along with the difference in community and backgrounds that the patients’ come from they also vary by illness or healthcare need. At first it is hard to realize the difference among those that come

The nursing shortage is an accumulation of multiple factors. The four primary contributions to the shortage include the aging registered nurse workforce, declining nursing school enrollments, the changing work climate, and the poor image of nursing (Love et al., 2006, p. 558). When it comes to the aging workforce, approximately one-third of the nursing workforce was over 50 years of age in 2000 and that fraction has increased to two-fifths in 2014 (Nevidjon and Erickson, 2001). Over half of registered nurses intend to retire between 2011 and 2020

According to Statistics Canada, aging population has steadily increased since the mid-1960. The age of 65 and older comprised 15.7% of the country’s population. Promoting health in these aging population is very crucial to minimise the severity of health complications that might occur in the long run. Gerontological Nursing involves the care of aging people and emphasize the promotion of the highest possible quality of life and wellness throughout the lifespan (Eliopoulos, c2014 p73). Aging people need Gerontological Nurses who are knowledgeable and willing to promote health and optimum quality of life with the consideration of their core needs such as physiological balance, connection and gratification (Eliopoulos, c2014 p78).

The concept of diversity is one that individuals may not think of when they think of nursing. Diversity is a major component to nursing and the care that is provided to patients. In this concept analysis, antecedent, attributes and consequences of diversity are identified. The following antecedents are: race, social economy, knowledge, gender, and education level. The attributes of diversity are individual, variety, perception, difference and civilization. The consequences of diversity are as follows; acceptance, decision making, cultural competency qualifications, respect, degrading, trusts

In the last twenty years, the rising number of disparities in health and healthcare has increased simultaneously with the influx of minorities within the population (Baldwin, 2003) A4. As the size of an ethnically diverse population steadily continues to increase, so will the level of complexities of patients’ health needs, which nurses and other healthcare staff will be expected to address (Black, 2008) A1. The issue of racial, ethnic and health disparities for minorities exists for several complex reasons, however, even with this being widely known, very little action has been taken to try and correct it (Baldwin, 2003) A4. Research findings suggest that without actively implementing cultural diversity within the healthcare workforce, quality in healthcare will decline while health disparities continue to rise (Lowe & Archibald, 2009) A3. So although the shortage of nursing staff should be a high-priority for change in the U.S., the need for more registered nurses with racially

By 2010, unless many more young people become nurses, about 40 percent of the nursing work force will be over age 50, according to the General Accounting Office (“Nursing Workforce”, 2001).

The growing number of the elderly patient has a direct impact on nursing practice. The issue of” baby boomers” having an increased life expectancy may have jobs security for the nurses in future as evidenced by multiple improvements in cardiac surgery in older population. The aging of the baby boomers is expected to produce a plethora of new nursing jobs, which could lead to higher wages, greater job security, and greater variety in types of work (Page, 2015).