Mastering Elderly Patient Care: 6 Essential Tips for Nurses
Nurses caring for older adults often encounter challenges related to complex conditions, medication management, and the unique needs of each individual. Promoting independence while ensuring safety and providing emotional support are additional hurdles nurses navigate when caring for older adults.
Caring for older adults presents nurses, CNAs, and other caregivers with unique challenges that demand specialized skills and compassion. As the population ages, nurses find themselves at the forefront of health care, navigating the complex needs and evolving health conditions of older individuals.
Providing care for this demographic requires a deep understanding of age-related conditions, geriatric pharmacology, and a holistic approach encompassing physical, cognitive, and emotional well-being. From managing multiple chronic conditions to addressing social and psychological aspects, nurses play a vital role in promoting the health and quality of life for older adults. With their expertise and dedication, nurses are instrumental in ensuring that the aging population receives the compassionate care they deserve.
Communication
Positive patient outcomes are facilitated by effective communication between physicians and their patients. This may entail making provisions for certain challenges when caring for senior patients. Elderly patients may have several health-related problems at one time, including vision impairment, dementia, hearing loss, and Alzheimer's disease. Additionally, clinicians might need to talk about delicate subjects like end-of-life or ailments that can inadvertently lead to that.
When caring for older patients, it's crucial to avoid generalizations about their capacities and to take the time to learn about the specific conditions and circumstances surrounding each case; patients may or may not experience age-related limitations. As a nurse, the onus falls on you to have empathy and realize your patient's needs and how to provide the care that they are looking for.
To ensure positive outcomes when looking after older people, here are some tips that can help. And although they may seem to require a lot of time and effort, they are well worth it in the end.
1. Use Educational Expertise to Your Advantage
As a registered nurse, you've come a long way in the course of learning, knowledge, and practical skills. Most nursing programs go beyond conventional scopes of teaching by imparting valuable insights about important characteristics like empathy, compassion, and communication. If you are still looking to learn more, you can explore upskilling opportunities like an MSN online degree.
The skills and traits that come with nursing education don't just apply to the profession overall, but it particularly allows you to enhance your ability to communicate with elderly patients. With the right education, you learn about modern practices that have evolved with respect to people of various age groups, including senior citizens.
2. Know the Importance of Body Language
An elderly patient is at a stage in life where they've been through almost every type of scenario. They probably know a lot more about body language than you do. These patients are looking for your attention and for you to show them you understand what they are going through. And the first way you can show this is through your demeanor.
When communicating with patients, always ensure you sit right in front of them; this is the least distractive position and shows you are interested in listening. At the same time, while they talk, make sure you are constantly making eye contact because it helps you and the patient to take hints from changing facial expressions and adjust the conversation accordingly.
3. Be Patient with Your Patient
Aged people tend to be less in control of their emotions and how they express them. It's like talking to your elderly parents or any other senior family member you've had the chance to interact with. Therefore, there will be a lot of moments that frustrate you, but you must keep your cool because the job is more important.
As a nurse for elderly patients, you must put up with slow, constantly interrupted sentences. You will also have to repeat yourselves several times and even go to great lengths in order to explain certain things. Your patients can also take longer to respond in certain cases. Ensure you are clear, slow, and adequately detailed in all your communications.
4. Listen Attentively
This point carries on from the body language discussion earlier. While it is important to have the right bodily tone, it is also crucial that you are actively listening to what the patient is trying to tell you. If you are staring at the walls or looking at your phone constantly, older adults are able to see it quite well, no matter how well you think you are managing to hide it.
It's crucial to pay attention to what your senior patients say and acknowledge that both they and you can struggle to understand. You should also acknowledge discussions with your patient through gestures without interrupting them. Ask for clarification whenever you fail to comprehend what your senior patient is trying to say.
5. Build a Rapport
Health organizations must ensure that all staff members have pleasant encounters with patients in order to develop a positive rapport. As a nurse whose job entails interacting with elderly patients, you should begin by properly introducing yourself and learning the patients' preferred names. It establishes a sense of familiarity and lays the framework for them to participate in their wellness planning by repeatedly using the preferred names.
Patients who feel comfortable with you favorably perceive you both as a professional and a person, allowing you to deliver better care for them. You are able to communicate more effectively because of the image you've built in the mind of the older adult that you are treating. They are also more receptive to your suggestions because they obviously think highly of you.
6. Practice Sincerity During Interactions
A patient never looks at their doctor or the nurse as someone who would only be concerned with their treatment plan that is given on paper. Especially when elderly patients visit a nurse, they seek compassion, bonding, and sympathy. They want you to understand what they are going through and communicate with them appropriately.
As a nurse, you are performing a benevolent job. For most professionals, it is never just about the money. It is about helping as many people as they can. The same must be true for you too. This is why it is imperative to show sincerity and empathy toward the patients as well. Being able to deal with senior citizens the right way is to make them feel comfortable, and the best way to do that is through sincerity.
Sincerity is an element that matters a lot when looking after patients on the higher side of the age bracket because it also elevates their mental well-being. This is a psychological help to these people as well because that is something that they will need on their road towards recovery and healing from whatever they may be suffering from.
Conclusion
Nurses, particularly those working with senior patients, have a more challenging job than usual. Thus, they need to take some additional steps in order to ensure better and more comprehensive treatment for them. It all comes down to making an effort to facilitate these patients to whatever extent you can.
About the Author
Carla Adams is an enthusiastic dreamer and a workaholic. She is a passionate blogger, writer, basketball player, researcher, and fashion freak. She has contributed to many reputed blogs and is constantly on the lookout to reach authoritative blogs around. Follow her on Twitter @CaCarlaadams
Carla Adams
Contributor since June 22nd, 2023
Editor's Note
The demand for qualified nurses, nurses aides, and other caregivers is growing rapidly as the population ages. In the United States, the number of adults aged 65 and older is projected to increase from 54 million in 2020 to 88 million by 2050. This increase in the older adult population will put a strain on the health system, as more and more people will need assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) such as bathing, dressing, and eating.
The growing need also places a huge financial burden on the care recipients and their families since health insurance and Medicare will not pay for most long-term health care, which is a large segment oof elder care services. Long-Term Care Insurance will pay for these services but policies are purchased before someone gets older and experiences health or age-related issues.
Nurses, nurses aides, and other caregivers play a vital role in providing care for older adults and those in long-term health care. They provide physical assistance, emotional support, and help with ADLs. They also monitor patient health, administer medications, and provide wound care. In addition, they educate patients and their families about their care and treatment.
The demand for qualified nurses, nurses aides, and other caregivers is outpacing the supply. In 2020, there were an estimated 3.8 million nurses and 2.4 million nurses aides in the United States. However, by 2030, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that there will be a shortage of 1.2 million nurses and 1.5 million nurses aides.
This shortage is being driven by a number of factors, including:
- The aging population
- The increasing complexity of care needs
- The high turnover rate among nurses and nurses aides
- The lack of financial incentives to enter the field
The shortage also increases the cost of long-term care services. It is another reason many people add Long-Term Care Insurance to their retirement plan.
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The shortage of qualified nurses, nurses aides, and other caregivers significantly impacts the health system. Patients are waiting longer for care and are more likely to experience complications. In addition, the shortage is putting a strain on the mental and physical health of nurses and nurses aides.
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