As people grow old, they develop particular health problems which might force them to change their lifestyle. Research shows that seniors make 12 percent of the world’s population, and they are rapidly increasing (Prince, Wu, Guo, Robledo, O'Donnell, Sullivan, and Yusuf, 2015). The work of geriatric nurses is also increasing as the population of older adult’s increases. Therefore, it is crucial that they understand their role in taking care of these patients. More importantly, they should understand the challenges that these people face as they age and recognize the preventive measures that one can use to place seniors on a healthy aging path.
The first challenge faced by older adults is chronic health conditions. Common chronic diseases include diabetes, cancer, heart disease and stroke. The National Council on Aging reported that the number of seniors suffering from a chronic disease is almost 92 percent, with 77 percent having at least two such illnesses (World Health Organization, 2015). Chronic diseases are the cause of many deaths in the world, almost two-thirds of deaths annually. A second health challenge faced by seniors is cognitive health. Explained as the ability of one to learn, think and remember, the risk of one developing dementia (the common cognitive health problem) can be increased by other chronic health conditions. For instance, conditions like diabetes, depression, hypertension, HIV, substance abuse and smoking. Dementia can be explained as the loss of cognitive functions, and Alzheimer’s disease is the most popular form of dementia. Over 5 million aging people over 65 years have the disease. The mental health of senior adults is also a challenge to some of them. 7 percent of seniors suffer from depression, which is a form of mental disorder. Most of the time depression is usually undertreated and underdiagnosed. Hence many suicide deaths are a result of this. Also, 15 percent of all seniors over 60 years in the USA suffer from a mental problem (World Health Organization, 2015). Seniors might also suffer from physical injury as they age. Falling is the leading cause of injury among seniors, which sometimes leads to death. Aging causes loss of muscle strength and shrinking of bones. Therefore, seniors tend to lose their balance, bruise themselves and even fracture their bones. Frailty can be contributed by osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. Another health problem in older adults is HIV/AIDS and other forms of STDs. Sexual desire in human beings does not disappear entirely despite the changes in sexual ability and needs. Most people over the age of 50 do not use condoms. Together with their weak immunity, there is a possibility of contracting HIV/AIDS. Since symptoms of aging are similar to those of early HIV stages, the virus is usually diagnosed late in seniors (World Health Organization, 2015). Therefore, it is difficult to treat and protect the immune system from damage 21 percent of AIDS patients in 2013 were seniors over 50 years.
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As people age, they might have malnutrition issues. The condition is often underdiagnosed. Malnutrition weakens the immune system and the muscles. Individuals over 50 years usually have hearing and vision impairments, but these problems can be treated. Oral problems can tooth cavities and decay, mouth cancer and gum diseases are common problems among seniors. Tooth decay and cavities might lead to the removal of teeth. Hence most adults with over 65 years do not have their natural teeth. Having weak or no teeth will make it difficult for one to maintain a healthy diet. Hence other health conditions might come in. Due to economic incapability and loss of medical insurance after retirement, it is hard for some seniors to acquire proper dental checkups to maintain their oral health. The ninth issue that older adults suffer from is substance abuse (Prince, Wu, Guo, Robledo, O'Donnell, Sullivan, and Yusuf, 2015). Suffering from mental problems and the inability of one acquiring the prescribed drugs might cause substance abuse. Lastly, seniors tend to suffer from constipation and incontinence, which might be caused by side effects of other health problems.
Since there are many health conditions that seniors suffer from and that they are vulnerable to abuse, medication and safety, they need proper attention and care. Taking care of these people can be done in homes by healthcare experts or in rehabilitation centers and nursing homes. Being a caregiver to our old folks is a difficult job because it needs a lot of time, understanding and patience. One responsibility of a geriatric nurse is learning how to communicate with their clients. They should be willing to listen to the patient’s problems and feelings, and counsel them if there is need. Also, the caregiver must teach the patient how to live a health old life. Specifically, they should not assume that the patient knows what to do or eat. Instead, they should give patients full information on how to live healthily, depending on their health condition. Besides, they should assist them with their treatment process to avoid further illness. Clients should be taught how to take care of their hygiene whether the nurse is there or not. Since most seniors are economically unstable and do not have medical insurances, the nurses should act as sponsors to them. By this, I mean they should represent the patient in community arrangements and plans. Since geriatric nurses are the only ones who understand the problems and struggles of the elderly, they are in a good position of representing them and explain the rights of these people (Boltz, 2011). In general, a caregiver should focus on ensuring the older adult is well taken care of since they are in direct contact with the patients.
Geriatric nursing is a profession that is snowballing because the number of seniors in society is also increasing. Today, many people live past 80 years than it was before. Therefore, the future of geriatric nursing is bright (Brody, 2017). Many nursing students should also join this profession because there are many career opportunities here. Because of the increasing demand of such experts, the medical department is also concentrating on imparting more knowledge to such people. However, the job of taking care of the elderly is challenging since it requires more patience and understanding from the caregiver. There is much to do in this profession. To be the best geriatric nurse, one has to learn a lot and exercise patience through practice. We should note that one has to put limitations on caring for the seniors while taking care of your-self.
In conclusion, providing care for the elderly has so many opportunities and demands. In my opinion, the profession should be handled by experienced people who know how to communicate with the elderly patiently (Brown and Bub, 2016). I had thought that the job only required one profession, but my thoughts have been changes. The job is more than just being a geriatric nurse since it works in conjunction with life skills and communication skills. Moving forward, my role as a geriatric nurse will be improved. I will have to learn specific life skills such as patience, communication, and understanding. In this way, I will be able to offer the required help to such people. Also, since the profession is growing, it is my role to encourage other students to join geriatric nursing since you will learn a lot by relating with the elderly, who are our grandparents, and the lessons learned might help you in future.
References
Prince, M. J., Wu, F., Guo, Y., Robledo, L. M. G., O'Donnell, M., Sullivan, R., & Yusuf, S. (2015). The burden of disease in older people and implications for health policy and practice: The Lancet , 385 (9967), 549-562.
World Health Organization. (2015). World report on ageing and health : World Health Organization.
Boltz, M. (2011). Evidence-based geriatric nursing protocols for best practice : Springer Publishing Company.
Brody, A. A. (2017). What does the future hold for geriatric nursing? Geriatric Nursing , 38 (1), 85
Brown, H. L., & Bub, L. (2016). Care transitions across the continuum: Improving geriatric competence. Geriatric Nursing , 37 (1), 68-70.
