Role of the Professional Geriatric Nurse

The geriatric nurse is responsible for the functions within the long-term care facility that are most critical to the quality of care delivered to patients.

Because treatments are constantly being evaluated and revised in response to research, it is important to keep geriatric nurses up to date on the latest techniques and theories for treatment. Therefore, continuing education is vital to the success of any long-term care facility. Brazil et al. (1998, p. 198) illustrate this with their study "Assessing the Impact of Staff Development on Nursing Practice."

After evaluating 43 nurse participants, the researchers found that participation in a geriatric education workshop increased the nurses' knowledge of gerontologic issues and improved their ability to assess patients and to plan and document nursing interventions in patient charts (Brazil et al., p. 198). However, it was noted that the workshop had no effect on collaborative practice, role ambiguity, or job satisfaction (Brazil et al., p. 198).

Frequently, continuing education is hand

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Nearly 80% of geriatric nurses are employed by nursing homes with the remainder working in hospitals and ambulatory settings (Milly & Mezey, p. 264). Despite the growth, geriatrics does not seem to be a popular specialty among nurses, a fact documented by studies (Milly & Mezey, p. 264; Fagerberg & Ekman, p. 177). Fagerberg and Ekman state that many research studies have found that nursing students are not "wholeheartedly" in favor of working with geriatric care patients although they have both positive and negative attitudes about working with elderly patients (Fagerberg and Ekman, p. 177). Of the 4,336 nurses who graduated from a master's program in all specialties in 1996, only 218 were prepared as geriatric/gerontological nurse practitioners (Milly & Mezey, p. 264). The researchers point out that as the population ages, recruiting quality nurses to care for these patients may become an issue (Fagerberg & Ekman, p. 177). In addition, locating faculty to educate graduating and practicing nurses becomes another challenge. Geriatric nursing programs rank fifth in enrollment among the 90 schools that prepare nurses for advanced practice (Milly and Mezey, p. 264). Programs in pediatrics, adult, family, and community health a
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