There comes a time in the life of many elderly patients when they need to transition into a different form of care.
The transition can and perhaps should be subtle. For the patient, it is important to maintain a degree of continuity, mostly in the form of compassion and collaboration.
Great healthcare professionals know that this transition marks a very important time in the patient’s life. While once the focus was on prevention now it is on comfort.
That is where AGANCPs come in. In this article, we take a look at who they are what they do, and what makes them different from general care providers.
General Care
Not all elderly people require age-specific care. While all care providers will take into account the unique risk factors that come with age, the average 65-year-old doesn’t necessarily have substantially different needs than those of a healthy 50-year-old. This means that for most of a person’s life care requirements are pretty much the same.
When you are reasonably healthy, your age does not necessarily decide what physician you see. You can continue going to the same general practitioner you’ve used for your entire adult life.
Then things change. Best case scenario this happens gradually, and in a way that requires minimal discomfort. Your mobility might decline. You may begin experiencing cognitive issues that, while not life-threatening challenge your ability to function at the same level you are used to.
In other words, you begin to experience in onset of irreversible age-related health problems. At this stage, you are no longer trying to improve your health. “Getting better” is not exactly possible. Instead, the goal becomes managing the problems in a way that maximizes your comfort and autonomy.
That is where AGACPs come into play.
What is an AGACP?
Adult gerontology acute care practitioners focus on managing conditions that are not likely to go away. While they do not strictly work in a hospice environment, their responsibilities are similar. They will work with a patient to monitor conditions and provide them with as much comfort as they can.
This could involve administering therapies that offset conditions or provide the patient with better mobility, but again the emphasis will never be getting better or reversing the onset of what they are experiencing.
Because this work deals with people in irreversibly declining health, it is emotionally draining work that is not suitable for everyone.
Challenges include:
- Depression: You can work on a cancer unit and maintain the mindset that this will never happen to you or even a person that you love. Common though cancer is it does not come for everyone. Old age, on the other hand, does. Gerontology nurses are dealing with the most natural final stage of life. The infirmities of age. The inevitability of human decline is a depressing thought for many people. In gerontology it is inescapable.
- Family: Nurses will tell you that patient families are both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, when patients have a strong support system they can aid in their mindset and improve their overall recovery. On the other hand, family members have opinions. Sometimes conflicting personalities can turn into a barrier to care. This is particularly pronounced in the world of gerontology, where patients and care providers often do their business directly at home where other family members are frequently around.
- Loss: While patients entering gerontology care are not necessarily destined to pass away immediately it is the inevitable conclusion of this type of medical treatment. Patients will die almost as a rule. Gerontologists must get used to constantly losing people whom they often grow close to. Admittedly this is something that all nurses experience, though in no other niche of the healthcare system is this type of loss so frequent or guaranteed.
There is also a steeper barrier to entry. In the next heading, we will take a look at what it takes to become a geological nurse.
What it Takes
If you want to become a nurse practitioner, you will need to get a graduate degree. This one falls a total of at least seven years in college. You may also need to acquire a specific amount of experience working in the home care or gerontology care setting.
Totaled, the process takes not only 10,000s of dollars but also a significant amount of time. With a wealth of nursing jobs available to anyone with a BSN, it’s natural to not wonder whether or not taking this extra step is worthwhile.
Is it? The answer depends on the individual. We talked in the last about some of the emotional consequences of the work. Nursing is never easy on that front but can be extra hard for some people. It’s important to look at your emotional readiness. Are you prepared for the harsh realities of the job? You can find that out by logging some experience in the hospital setting first.
As a nurse, you will inevitably connect with senior citizens in a state of decline. Ask yourself constantly if you have what it takes to make this a full-time aspect of your work.
If you determine that you do have what it takes the rewards can be pretty sweet. Nurse practitioners command six-figure salaries. They enjoy autonomy similar to that of a general practitioner and they have a much more flexible work environment in the form of patient homes.
Granted not everyone likes or even feels comfortable going directly to the patient to administer care. There are gerontological jobs that take place in hospitals and even nursing homes as well.
The sad fact that there are many ailing sick people adds to the flexibility of this work.
Conclusion
Think you have what it takes? Many gerontologists love being nurses. It is rewarding and high-paying work. To get started begin looking for a graduate school with a program in gerontological care. You should find no shortage of options.
