Geriatric nursing assessment

Gerontological nursing is a unique area of nursing. The cornerstone of the gerontological nursing process is assessment. In some traditional education models, nurses are taught assessments in general areas, such as cardiology, neurology, urology, and orthopedics. Little emphasis is placed on integrating these systems. A one-day workshop was developed with the objective to further develop the assessment skills of the registered nurse (RN) in continuing care by demonstrating a holistic approach to assessment and care planning. For this workshop, the "giants of geriatric medicine," namely falls, incontinence, confusion, iatrogenic illness, and impaired homeostasis (Cape, 1978) were further developed into a geriatric nursing model to include the psychosocial issues. This model demonstrates a way of assessing and integrating the information known about the resident. To ensure the workshop content was practical for the nurse, existing resident care documentation within the sponsoring organization, The Capital Care Group, was used. Through the education provided in the workshop, the RNs recognized that individualized care is based on full assessment of the resident, integration of the information gathered, and complete documentation.