Response To Donnella

Response to Colleagues (Gerontological Nursing)

[Name of Writer]

[Name of Institution]

Dear Donnella,

Your insights about the exceptional significance of gerontological nursing are perceptive. You made several remarkable points in your post. The idea that gerontological nursing should overlap other arenas of nursing is one such point. Considering the possibilities of implementing this notion, it is important to understand how gerontological nursing education works. There has been a significant rise in the inclusion of gerontology in the curriculum taught to nursing students. CITATION Ber05 \l 1033 (Berman A., 2005) In recent years, it has become a point of focus for the healthcare department that the number of people older than 65 is increasing. Consequentially, introducing gerontological nursing as an umbrella that covers general nursing curricula is the move of today. Your ideas directly overlap with this positive trend.

However, studies have proven that nursing students exposed to gerontology during training tend to shy away from choosing gerontology as their major when in practice.CITATION CNe15 \l 1033 (Neville, 2015) This mindset needs to be reset with proper guidance and counseling of young nurses. Your other idea of increasing staffing for gerontological nursing also relates to this mentality. The attitude of nursing students in gerontological settings should be worked upon so more students are compelled to choose gerontology.

Another particularly outstanding comment in your post is introducing the concept of burnout in relation to gerontological nursing. Burnout is common in any nursing practice that involves long-term care. CITATION Eri14 \l 1033 (Erin L. Woodhead, 2014) Emotional exhaustion is inevitable when the job is draining yet hardly rewarding. Assisting an old person in minor tasks as well as the constant supervision needed here can wear nurses out. It is therefore intuitive on your part to link the staffing problem in gerontological nursing with the burnout that gerontological nurses are constantly exposed to. Incentives to have a caring and supportive team of coworkers should be taken to assist gerontological nurses.

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY Berman A., M. M. (2005). Gerontology nursing content in baccalaureate nursing education programs: comparison of findings from 1997 and 2003. Journal of Professional Nursing, 268-275.

Erin L. Woodhead, L. N. (2014). Stress, Social Support, and Burnout Among Long-Term Care Nursing Staff. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 84-105.

Neville, C. (2015). A cross-sectional view of Australian undergraduate nurses' perceptions of working with older people. Collegian, 285-292.