A Research Project Nursing Geriatrics Discourse

Nursing Discourse Discourse: communities of people that share a common goal which could be in the work force, at church, or in an organization. Nursing Discourse: centered on people’s well-being and requires a person that is competent, committed, compassionate, hopeful, a critical thinker, and most of all a team player. Geriatric Nursing Discourse: To help, explain, and support the elderly with their illnesses and be their medical representative.

Geriatric Nursing There are so many places nurses are needed in geriatrics such as nursing homes, at home care, and hospitals everywhere. Currently in America older adults account for fifty percent of hospital days, sixty percent of ambulance visits, and seventy percent of all home care visits (Thornlow 5).

Geriatric Nursing Ethics “The nurse owes the same duties to self as to others, including the responsibility to preserve integrity and safety, to maintain competence, and to continue personal and professional growth’ (ANA 200, p.18). (Lachman)” Many people have prejudices against the older population because they are seen as a burden on society, dependent on others, and having ill health. These things make the elderly more vulnerable which is why the care of the aging is more complicated and also rewarding. Ethics in Nursing

Communication in Nursing Is vital to the patients well-being. There are many charts that nurses have to read to figure out what’s wrong with the patient, how they are being treated, what they are allergic to, and if they have any past medical problems. To find these key pieces of material out there must be communication between the first nurse who sees the patient, the doctor in charge, and any other nurse who cares for the patient. ‘The nurse owes the same duties to self as to others, including the responsibility to preserve integrity and safety, to maintain competence, and to continue personal and professional growth’ (ANA 200, p.18). (Lachman)” In geriatrics this is very important to communicate with elders who may not be able to communicate for themselves.

Nursing Literature

Nursing Literature: Journals “Elders and Drugs: Trouble in the Mix?” A study was done by the State University of New York in which “participants reported using an average of two prescriptions and two over-the-counter drugs over the previous month; most also said they sometimes drank alcoholic beverages. About 66% reported use of at least one potentially risky combination.” (Ross 11). This study is of major concern to all nurses especially nurses dealing with the elderly who use a plethora of medications. This journal is informative and available to all nurses to read in the American Journal of Nursing.

Nursing Literature: Journals “Nursing Older People” is a monthly journal In this journal I found a review of a book called “Compassion, Caring and Communication Skills for Nursing Practice” which apparently is aimed at the poor nursing care being given in nursing homes and how nurses can improve on the care they give and can encourage other nurses around them as well. “There are sections on creating a caring discourse, caring as a two- way process of giving and receiving, care with compassion and the nature of compassionate care.” (Hodson). This book review in the journal would help tremendously if a nurse needed guidance or help with how to improve elderly care.

Medical Charts

Nursing Literature: Medical Charts When someone first goes to the doctor’s office they are usually seen by a nurse who asks the patient any and all questions about their health. They transport information about every aspect of a person’s life from current illnesses to past ones that maybe you had or relatives have had to track if something is hereditary or not. Sometimes these charts are completed on a paper but mainly the charts are filed out online.

Nursing Literature: Medical Charts My mother herself performed a health interview and then a medical chart. Questions asked were about the elders dependency, his daily body pains, and the types of medications he uses. The patient stated that “he has had chronic pain in his right knee after it was drained a while back. The pain worsens with strenuous activity and he relives this pain by taking ibuprofen for flare ups but no other medication”

Medical Reference Books

Nursing Literature: Reference Books Mosby’s Nursing Drug Reference book is full of every type of drug that could be prescribed to someone and what its effect on the patient is. When reading medical charts there are sometimes up to twenty medications prescribed to one person and it is the nurses job to decipher what each one of the drugs does and if any have an adverse effect on each other. An example of a medication that many older adults are prescribed would be anti-anxiety pills, more specifically Xanax. In the Mosby’s Nursing Drug Reference book it is described as a drug that “slows down the movement of chemicals in the brain that may become unbalanced. This results in a reduction in nervous tension.” (Mosbey 1,039).

Nursing as a Genre In this field it is important to stay educated and up to date on every current medical finding or procedure to help better a patient’s life; this is why nurses read through research studies, medical dictionaries, and medical charts. The genre of a nurse deals with facts, problems, solutions, and studies that have occurred since the beginning of time.

Nursing Literacy Literacy is described by Gee as “a socially accepted association among ways of using language, of thinking, and of acting that can be used to identify oneself as a member of asocially meaningful group or ‘social network.’” (Gee 537). In the nursing field there is a specific medical terminology that all nurses are exposed to everyday and lay people are usually unaware of what these terms means. This is crucial aspect of a nurses job; to explain to patients what the terms mean and exactly what is going on with them because it is their body.

Nursing Literacy: Treatment Plan I analyzed a treatment plan with my nursing knowledge so far in my education. Anxiety is common among the elderly and I assessed this treatment to show how nursing literacy works. CBT is a treatment that examines the thoughts and behaviors of a person to address a mental disorder and try to see a pattern of behaviors so that they can be fixed. There are many types of anxiety that all require different care and the treatment plan is unique for every patient which is why nursing is a complicated discourse.

Conclusion Nursing takes on many roles and in geriatrics these roles are the same but the patient is usually more reliant on their nurse as they are older. This is a discourse that revolves around others and calls for a person to be kind and compassionate. It also requires much reading and a strong medical literacy which can be obtained through journals, medical charts, and reference books. Each source that was analyzed described the discourse of nursing as a field that requires a lifestyle that is centered around the well- being of people and I hope to one day call myself a geriatric nurse. Geriatric Nursing