Being A Geriatric Nurse Practitioner

By Lindsay Barnes

Nursing is one of those professions that are highly important and sorely needed; unfortunately, there is a significant lack of nursing professionals in the country at present. Nursing these days takes quite a lot of training and education and is a widely regarded occupation. Indeed, nurses do command more respect nowadays, mainly because their duties go well beyond what people perceive them to be. In the past, people mainly thought that nurses were just around to look in on patients, help the doctor, and clean up patients as well. Those duties are still applicable, but simply summing up the duties of a nurse in those terms is really quite inadequate.

A nurse assists in treating and helping patients recover from various diseases, and may also be involved in medical research. There are also different types of nurses, and one particular segment of patients that requires the attention and expertise of nurses is the elderly. A nurse who specializes in elderly care is known as a geriatric nurse.

Geriatric nursing is becoming more in demand due to the growth of the elderly population. Geriatric nursing professionals work in different settings, from hospitals, clinics, assisted or independent living facilities, or even in the patient's own home. Being in geriatric nursing requires a different skill set as well as more education; a nurse in the field of geriatric nursing should have obtained a certification to practice in this field of nursing, and could go into a diploma program or take a full year course for a Bachelor's Degree.

Once a nurse has gone into geriatric nursing and has been practicing for some time, he or she may want to expand his or her knowledge further for career advancement. The next logical step is to become a geriatric nurse practitioner. As a geriatric nurse, one should always have a thorough knowledge of the effects of aging as well as serious illnesses that affect the elderly. But a geriatric nurse practitioner takes on more responsibilities than a nurse and has undergone more training and education. Diagnosing and treating ailments as well as prescribing treatments are among the duties of a geriatric nurse practitioner.

Caring for the elderly takes more than dedication to the job; it also require a nurse to truly care for the welfare of the elderly. A geriatric nursing practitioner will be able to have a more hands-on approach to treating the elderly, and have a deeper understanding of each patient's condition.

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