Teaching Geriatric Assessment

This paper identifies and describes the range of information which geriatric social work practitioners need in order to perform a comprehensive geriatric assessment. Although the geriatric social work assessment is grounded in the basic assessment principles common to all social work practice, it requires additional familiarity with the particular knowledge and skills relevant to working with an aged population. This specialized knowledge is very broad and may include appropriate modifications in practice principles as well as familiarity with content on health and illness, life cycle adaptation issues; and family and community support systems. Assessments in geriatric practice also necessitate that social workers gain some acquaintance with the technologies which have been developed to measure physical, mental and social functioning among the aged.