Respond to the 2 following discussion posts separately with separate references. References to be no older than 5 years old.
1. Lindsay Trent posted Nov 2, 2022 7:22 PM
At this point in my career, I have had minimal experience with people aged 65 and older related to direct patient care. I work in aesthetics and most of the treatments we conduct are not indicated for and do not have evidence-based results for patients over the age of 65. However, I have had the opportunity to work with a significant number of geriatric patients thus far in my clinical rotations.
As of 2019, 16% of the total population in the United States – 30 million women and 24.1 million men – were aged 65 and older (ACL, 2020). This number will continue to grow over the next decade as baby boomers continue to age into the older population. 22.3% of those aged 65 to 74 assessed their health as fair or poor, and 29.3% of those aged 75 and over rated their health as fair to poor (ACL, 2020). An additional important factor to be aware of is that a significant number of older Americans have at least one chronic condition, and many have multiple (ACL, 2020). The leading chronic conditions include: arthritis, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, cancer, COPD, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, stroke, and diabetes (ACL, 2020). Over 80% of older Americans have hypertension or are taking an antihypertensive medication (ACL, 2020). Many of these chronic conditions require pharmacologic intervention, leading to potentially dangerous polypharmacy situations (NIH, 2021). I anticipate that we will become more familiar with the aforementioned chronic conditions that impact the geriatric population in addition to treatment management with special consideration to polypharmacy.
References
Administration for Community Living (ACL). (2020). 2020 Profile of Older Americans. Available from: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://acl.gov/sites/default/files/aging%20and%20Disability%20In%20America/2020Profileolderamericans.final_.pdf
National Institutes of Health (NIH). (2021). The dangers of Polypharmacy and the case for deprescribing in older adults. National Institute on Aging. Retrieved 2022, from https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/dangers-polypharmacy-and-case-deprescribing-older-adults
2. Judy Nguyen posted Nov 2, 2022 6:48 PM
In my last 6.5 years as a nurse, I’ve worked in the subacute setting, medical surgical, telemetry, and medical oncology. I’ve had a great number of experiences working with geriatric patients. These include conditions from endocrine disease, such as diabetes mellitus; both type 1 and 2 and hypothyroidism to cardiac disease, from hypertension to congestive heart failure and stroke. I’ve also seen and managed many cancer patients, patients with anemia, dementia, chronic kidney disease, and depression.
Depression is a major issue in the older population. Although it is not a normal part of aging, it is prevalent as they deal with more chronic illnesses, they start to develop feelings of vulnerability and hopelessness. For most people, depression gets better with treatment. Counseling, medicine, or other forms of treatment can help (National Institute on Aging, 2017).
Nurse practitioners play a huge role when it comes to caring for the geriatric population. Since 1965, when the nurse practitioner role was first established, research has shown that NP provides high quality care with great outcomes and patient satisfaction (AANP, 2019). This is because we can show empathy, validate concerns, advocate for our patients, as well as work with our patients to provide them with the best treatment options available. We must recognize that not everyone with chronic illnesses is geriatrics. There are many chronic diseases that occur in adults age <65-year-old as well. We must understand different treatment options for everyone depending on their underlying diseases and other co-morbidities.
For this course, I anticipate continuing to expand my knowledge in caring for not only geriatrics but for pediatric patients. I anticipate many wellness visits, screening, and prevention interventions. That includes immunizations and educations on disease preventions.
References
American Association of Nurse Practitioners. (2019). Quality of nurse practitioner practice. American Association of Nurse Practitioners; AANP Website. https://www.aanp.org/advocacy/advocacy-resource/position-statements/quality-of-nurse-practitioner-practice
National Institute on Aging. (2017). Depression and older adults. National Institute on Aging. https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/depression-and-older-adults
