This is an exciting post, Chase. I agree with you. Notably, older patients have a higher potential for multiple comorbidities as compared to younger patients. Healthcare professionals managing older patients inherently deal with uncertain outcomes than other patient populations (Gijzel et al., 2019). This makes managing elderly patients more complicated and challenging. However, managing this patient population can present a learning opportunity that prepares nurses and other healthcare professionals to manage any other population group or health condition efficiently. The basic thing to be able to easily manage older patients and deliver care that meets their health needs and improves their quality of life is understanding and appreciating the physical, physiological, and emotional functionality changes that come along with aging. Therefore, as a geriatrician, one should focus on exploring various approaches that support the development of physical and mental resilience among the older for better physical and mental health outcomes over time.
Gijzel, S. M. W., Whitson, H. E., van de Leemput, I. A., Scheffer, M., van Asselt, D., Rector, J. L., Olde Rikkert, M. G. M., & Melis, R. J. F. (2019). Resilience in Clinical Care: Getting a Grip on the Recovery Potential of Older Adults. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 67(12), 2650–2657. https://doi.org/10.1111/JGS.16149
This is a good post, Natalia. Various factors pose multiple challenges in caring for geriatric populations and patients. For instance, as you have noted, geriatric populations are prone to developing comorbid chronic health conditions with an impact on mental, metabolic, cardiac, and all-body function. In addition, the elderly population are also at an increased risk of falls, which might result in fractures and chronic pain. The risk of comorbid diseases falls, and chronic pain creates the need for consideration of multiple approaches to care when responding to the health issues of geriatric patient populations. The demanding and challenging nature of providing care to geriatric patients and populations is associated with graduate nurses’ unwillingness to work in a geriatric setting (Serafin et al., 2022). Therefore, one’s anticipation of learning about caring for patients with regards to geriatric patients should focus on developing a positive attitude toward this population group.
Serafin, L., Wesołowska-Górniak, K., Kędziora-Kornatowska, K., Muszalik, M., Puto, G., & Czarkowska-Pączek, B. (2022). Education and attitudes toward geriatric care: Impact for nursing graduates and their career decisions – study protocol. Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701960.2022.2121280
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