geriatric nursing

[DAISY MAE 1]

I recently went from a leadership position in a nursing home, to

a staff nurse position in a hospital. From my discussions, it

appears that some of the opinions are that geriatric nurses donot

know as much, skill level is poor, and you would have to be crazy

to work in a nursing home. I would like to know if this is a general consensus--what is your opinion?

[jschut, BSN, RN]

Of course we are real nurses. It takes a special breed to work with the elderly.

Julie

[Love-A-Nurse]

oh my yes, real as can be!

[adrienurse, LPN]

Wow! I'm only 50% nurse (or is that only a nurse 50% of the time)? Who started this thread?

I started nursing at a time when I could have chosen a job in any area of nursing. I chose geriatrics because I value the elderly and love to care for them. Those who think I have a lot of downtime don't know enough to appreciate exactly what I am doing when I am holding that wrinkled hand. Is nursing all about the tally of so called nursing skills in one day? So I haven't started an IV in 6 years. So what? I deal with elders with multiple health problems who are very prone to agitation. I know enough to realize, that my purpose is not to cure them, but to ensure their quality of life. I deal with ensuring that they eat enough (dispite the many number of feeding complications they have), I ensure that their skin is healthy, that they are using proper equipment in order to mobilize and that their medical issues are dealt with. I also make sure that their occasional health crises are dealt with appropriately. I consult with and counsel their families. I try to decode the confused language of the residents themselves to determine their needs.

Those who voted that I am not a nurse need to give their heads a shake. Call me up, if you need help.

[Tookie]

adreinurse

l love this quote of yours - thank you it explains a lot - l am going to copy it and keep it - l want to give it to students when they come to us and l try to explain how importatn it is to learn the bery basic skills - l beleive thaty if you can care for the elderly in a holistic manner - and with their mutilpe diseases - this is the basis of caring for all manner of people.

Thank you for your comment

(See below)

Tookie

I started nursing in a time when I could have chosen a job in any area of nursing. I chose geriatrics because I value the elderly and love to care for them. Those who think I have a lot of downtime don't know enough to appreciate exactly what I am doing when I am holding that wrinkled hand. Is nursing all about the tally of so called nursing skills in one day? So I haven't started an IV in 6 years. So what? I deal with elders with muntiple health problems who are very prone to agitation. I know enough to realize that what I am there for is not to cure them, but to ensure their quality of life. I deal with assuring that they eat enough (dispite the many number of feeding complications they have), I assure that their skin is healthy, that they are using proper equipment in order to mobilize, that their medical issues are dealt with and that their occasional health crises are dealt with appropriately. I consult with and counsel their families, and try to decode the confused language of the residents themselves to determine their needs.'

[Youda]

We've all see "bad" hospital nurses, and there are "bad" LTC nurses. I've seen it both ways. Let's turn this around, shall we? Could a hospital nurse do a code with no crash cart and no one to help except one CNA? Could a hospital nurse change a Stage IV decub dressing, sterile mind you, without a pre-packaged dressing kit? Can a hospital nurse take care of 60 patients all by herself and call it a light day? Not to bash hospital nurses! No! That isn't what I'm saying. I'm saying, be proud wherever you are! The skills you need are much different in both settings! ))