Geropsychiatric Nursing Practice in the United States: Present Trends and Future Directions

Abstract

Demographic trends, diversification of geriatric health care service settings, and advances in education and science call for redefining the context and mission of geropsychiatric nursing (GPN) practice. The challenges of providing preventive, restorative, and palliative care for older adults who move across health care and residential settings demand that geropsychiatric nurses be theoretically well grounded, family centered, expert in multiple assessment skills, and clinically adept across the full biopsychosocial spectrum. This article provides “snapshots” of the educational and career paths that led four nurses into GPN practice. Noting that the extant literature is more descriptive of practice models than suggestive of efficacy, the article offers a series of recommendations that emphasize the need for evaluations of GPN practice.

Elderly Care Models that Can be Practised in Clinical and Home Care

“…Hastalıkları ilerlemeye başlamış ve işlevsellikleri azalmış olan yaşlı bireylerin var olan yetilerini en yüksek seviyede kullanabilmeleri ve daha fazla kayıp yaşamamaları için yaşlı bakım programlarına psikososyal rehabilitasyon ve geriatrik bakımın da entegre edilmesi gerekmektedir (Stephens ve ark.,2020) (Kaas andBeattie, 2006, C. Stephens ve ark., 2020). Bu modellerde amaç yaşlı bireyin işlevselliğini koruma ve yaşam kalitesini yükseltmektir.…”

Advances in geropsychiatric nursing: A decade in review

“…A growing literature on nursing and interprofessional collaboration in geropsychiatric care redesign (Kaas & Beattie, 2006;Callahan, et al, 2018;Farrell, et al, 2018;Harris, 2018) suggests that APRNs readily adapt successful models of care to provide a structure that guides practice. The person-centered care (PCC) model is an approach whereby psychosocial needs and the older individual's identity and preferences are made central to care provision (Van Haitsma, Abbott, Arbogast, et al, 2020).…”

A Commentary on the Future of Geropsychiatric Nursing Practice: Definition, Education, and Advocacy

“…The first and fundamental challenge is to operationalize the definition of GPN practice. Kaas and Beattie (2006) stated that "geropsychiatric nursing found its place by filling the empty practice spaces between psychiatric and gerontological nursing and providing leadership where the practice spaces of these specialties overlap." The implied breadth of this mandate raises a range of definitional issues.…”

“…To successfully establish standards and the scope or definition of the specialty, effort must be made to identify all nurses who practice GPN, establish linkages to facilitate effective communication, and leverage interest and commitment to accomplish these goals. Kaas and Beattie (2006) noted that the recommendation to "increase nursing education in mental health needs of elderly" has been a consistent refrain in the literature. Clearly, more subspecialists in GPN are needed, yet sufficient numbers realistically cannot be prepared to meet all of the requirements of the older adults who will present with mental health needs in the future.…”