The Scope and Standards of Practice for Gerontological Nursing (2010) defines the goal of gerontological nursing practice as: “... to provide the highest quality of care to the older adults within a health care system facing an unprecedented increase of their numbers. To do so, gerontological nurses employ a shared body of skills and knowledge to address the full range of needs related to the process of aging, the specialized care of older adults, and the uniqueness of older adults as a group and as individuals. These specialists lead interprofessional teams and collaborate with older adults and their significant others to promote autonomy, wellness, optimal functioning, comfort, and quality of life from healthy aging to the end of life.”

(AHNA, 2010, p. 5)

The purpose of this CNE activity is to explore the realities of chronic illness in later life through an independent, self-paced reading activity.

  Click here to access this course.

Following this education activity, the participant will be able to:
1. Describe three demographics for older adults in the U.S.
2. List five common changes of aging.
3. Describe three geriatric syndromes.
4. List three Complementary and Alternative Modalities (CAM) available to older adults.  

The purpose of this CNE activity is to increase the learner’s knowledge of safe integration of CAM in geriatric care.   

Click here to access this course.

Following this education activity, the participant will be able to:

1. Describe the characteristics of CAM users.
2. List at least two risks to older adults who use CAM inappropriately.
3. Discuss the benefits of CAM in geriatric care.
4. Describe several CAM therapies, their potential use, and special considerations in geriatric care.
5. List at least three responsibilities nurses have when using CAM in geriatric care.

The purpose of this CNE activity is to increase the learner’s knowledge of self-care for geriatric nurses through a self-paced educational activity.

 Click here to access this course.

Following this education activity, the participant will be able to:
1.  List five reasons why nurses fail to properly care for self.
2.  Describe at least three characteristics of nurse healers.
3.  List major categories of macronutrients and micronutrients.
4.  Calculate target heart rate during exercise.
5.  Describe the basic steps of meditation.
6.  Describe the relationship of journaling and inner growth.

The purpose of this CNE activity is to explore spirituality in geriatric nursing care through an independent, self-paced educational activity. 

Click here to access this course.

Following this education activity, the participant will be able to:
1.  Describe developmental tasks in late life.
2.  Differentiate religion and spirituality.
3.  List eight spiritual needs.
4.  Describe at least three methods for assessing the state of a person.
5.  Discuss measures the nurse can use to care for a person’s spirit.
6.  Identify at least five signs of spiritual distress.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgrkkQkSNzw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8cep17ZMKw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwlvTcWR3Gs&t=486s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcpelNJTDbY

https://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/74125/live-whole-health-self-care-episode-10-chair-yoga/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=049Ti9FNuG8&feature=emb_logo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=wehEHPz2WtE&feature=emb_logo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=vDvY8YnYfVk&feature=emb_logo

Advisement for the Hearing impaired:

Use appropriate hearing aids and assistive technology. Get closer or go where the talker is. Take listening breaks- we focus better when rested. Don’t be afraid to disclose your impairment and how to best facilitate communication-  speakers want you to hear what they are trying to say!

Support Persons or Caregivers:

Speak clearly and in a normal tone of voice. DO NOT SHOUT. The person with conductive hearing loss will have more difficulty interpreting the sounds of your speech. Be patient and gain their attention before speaking, often they cannot hear you if you are not facing them! Choose quieter, less ambient noise places for real conversation. Take breaks- it is more work for the brain trying to hear, and then still need to interpret, sound patterns.

Helpful Resource: www.hearingloss.org

HLAA Video Series on Hearing Assistive Technology
Six short videos on assistive listening technology, large-area systems, devices for the phone, alerting devices, captioning, technology solutions for the workplace (Produced by HLAA)


Guide to Software Accessibility for the Disabled — A resource guide to technology for a wide range of disabilities, including those with hearing loss.

"According to centers for disease control and prevention, approximately 12 million people 40 years and over in the us have vision impairment. 1 million are blind, 3 million have vision impairment after correction, and 8 million have vision impairment due to uncorrected refractive error."
Visioncenter.org is an informational research based guide written and edited by licensed optometrists and medical writers. information is updated from scholarly articles, textbooks, government agencies, and medical journals.

Color Vision Deficiency

https://www.visioncenter.org/eye-conditions/color-blindness/

Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology — COAT advocates for accessibility and usability of technology for people with disabilities. Enacting the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (21st CVAA) was a huge step forward and we are working to implement this new law. COAT’s overall aim is to ensure accessibility, usability, and affordability of all broadband, wireless, and Internet technologies for people with disabilities.

Movement from a recliner to the mailbox, circulating about a kitchen to use appliances, or being able to reach upper cabinets are mobility practices most of us take for granted. Limited mobility often comes with age or debilitating disorders like arthritis and osteoporosis or neurological diseases. No long ago limited mobility felt like a jail sentence to many seniors, but mobility devices ranging from canes, to  walkers and rollators or electric wheelchairs and scooters are restoring independence.
Good news for caregivers: Medicare usually pays up to 80% of the cost of a mobility device with a physicians order!

Screenings to Test Mobility:

• Get Up and Go test

 

• Performance-Oriented Mobility Assessment.
  

Helpful Tips from www.parentgiving.com

• How to Spend Time with Your Family While You Care for (and Live With) a Family Member

• 12 Comfort Aides for Senior Guests

NewMouth.com is an evidence based oral hygiene site with research, such as scholarly articles, dentistry textbooks, government agencies, and medical journals. This includes information provided by the American Dental Association (ADA), the American Association of Orthodontics (AAO), and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Self-Awareness is a cornerstone for Holistic Nursing.

In an environment of chronic confusion or dementia, this quality is essential for maintaining the comfort and safety of the residents. A holistic approach encourages nurses to leave stressors, distractors, and tension causing energies outside the patients' 'healing environment'.
For this to occur a nurse must be Centered.

Often those suffering from dementia or memory loss experience many of the neurotransmitter fluctuations present in mental health disorders. It is reasonable then that remedying their anxieties, loneliness or emotional lability correlates to enhancing the residents' feelings of security, safety, and love. The simplest way to ease an environment of disorder, is to provide an energy of calm. In mental health nursing this is referred to as 'controlling the milieu.

Excerpts: Helping LTC Residents with Dementia feel Calm Safe & Happy

"Be Calm to Create Calm"  

"Feeling safe, calm and happy has more to do with who people are with, rather than their physical surroundings. There is a lot that each of us can do to shift the energy of a place from scary to safe, stressful to calm, and frustrating to happy. Research, and probably your own experience, indicates that the mood, attitudes, appearance, behavior and energy of a caregiver impacts one in their care. Contemporary nursing theorists consider the caregiver as part of the patient’s environment..."