2. Human life is normally divided into five
(5) main stages namely infancy,
childhood, adolescence, adulthood and
old age. In each of these stages, an
individual has to find himself/herself in
different situations and face different
problems. The old age is not without
problems. In old age, physical strength
4. Elderly is an individual over 65 years who
have a functional impairments.
Elderly care or simply eldercare is the
fulfillment of the special needs and
requirements that are unique to senior
citizens. This broad term encompasses such
services as assisted living, adult day care,
long term care, nursing homes (often
referred to as residential care), hospice care
5. The family is one of the most important providers
for the elderly. In fact, the majority of the caregivers
for the elderly are often members of the family,
most often a daughter or a granddaughter.
7. Gerontology nursing or geriatric nursing is
specialty of nursing pertaining to older adults.
It specializes in the care of older or elderly
adults. Geriatric nursing addresses the physical
development, psychological, socio-economic,
cultural and spiritual needs of an individual.
Gerontological nurses work in collaboration with
older adults, their families, and communities to
support healthy ageing, maximum functioning
8. Helping older adults.
Recognizing their
risk factors by
planning coping
strategies to
promote safety.
Modifying their
environment to
Understanding and
accepting the needs
of elderly.
Providing support
and guidance with
patience for meeting
the different needs
of the elderly.
10. Perform a through history and physical
examination to identify patient risk factors for
complications during hospitalization.
Perform a brief cognitive (reading) and functional
assessment of the elderly patient.
Organize medications.
Educate the patient about personal safety and
disease prevention.
11. Provide non pharmacologic alternatives for the
management of insomnia and delirium.
Provide social assessment of the patient’s living
conditions/support systems and understand how that
impacts the patient’s health and care plan.
Formulate safe multidisciplinary plan for elderly
people.
Understand patient’s mental status and thinking skills.
Recognize signs of potential elder abuse like financial
exploitation, neglect by caregivers, healthcare fraud
and abuse, etc
12. Many older people have health condition that
do not require hospitalization and must be treated with
medication, changes in diets, use of special
equipments (such as blood sugar monitor, walker),
daily exercises or other adaptations. Family members
must have conversations with elderly people which
helps them to feel relief and happy. The elders may be
stubborn and uncooperative but the caregivers i.e. the
family members must be patience and flexible.