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An Aging Patient Population: The Challenge for Nursing
Walk into the average hospital or clinic, and about half of the patients
you see will be over 65. Today, older adults represent nearly 50% of hospital
days, and 60% of all ambulatory adult primary care visits. They also account
for 70% of all home care visits and represent 85% of residents in nursing
homes.
Nurses provide health care in all of these settings, so one might expect
that many nurses already have special preparation in aging. Of today’s
2.7 million registered nurses, however, less than 1% are certified in gerontological
nursing. Only 3% of Advance Practice Nurses have specialized training in
this area. And though schools of nursing have made significant progress
in recent years, only one out of three baccalaureate degree nursing programs
has a required course in geriatrics.
In light of what is already happening—and what will certainly happen
in the future—there is a critical need not only to prepare more gero-specialists
in nursing, but to ensure all nurses are ‘aging-savvy’—that
is, knowledgeable and skilled in addressing the unique health care needs
of older adults.
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