1. Geriatric Nursing: Meeting Nutritional and Fluid Needs
Sandy Mishkin, RN, BC, MSN, M.Ed.
©2008

2. Nutrition and Aging Many reasons for inadequate nutritional intake
Internal
External

3. Symptoms of Nutritional Problems
Unintentional weight loss
Lightheadedness
Disorientation
Lethargy
Loss of appetite

4. Symptoms of Nutritional Problems
Many medical and psychiatric conditions also present with these signs and symptoms.
It must be determined if the primary problem is nutritional versus medical or psychiatric.

5. Application of the Nursing Process
Risk for Imbalanced Nutrition
Risk for Imbalanced Fluid Volume
Impaired Swallowing
Risk for Aspiration

6. Cultural Awareness
Importance of increasing cultural awareness of nursing assistants who generally feed elderly patients
Learn more about dietary preferences and practices at the following Web sites

7. References
Wold, G. (2004). Basic geriatric nursing (3rd ed.). St. Louis: Mosby.