Caring for Older Adults Holistically, 4th Edition
Unit 1
Chapter One (4th Edition)
Holistic Caring
Pati L.H. Cox, RN, BSN, M.Ed.
12/2009
Caring for Older Adults Holistically, 4th Edition
Gerontological Nursing
 Guaranteed future in nursing
 New nursing specialty
 Certified nurses
 Clinical specialists
 Geriatric nurse practitioners
Caring for Older Adults Holistically, 4th Edition
Gerontological Nursing
 Specific body of knowledge
 Signs and symptoms of illness
 Medication dosages
 Life stages
Caring for Older Adults Holistically, 4th Edition
Demographics of Aging
 Growing old is new for our society
 More people are over the age of 65
 According to 2002 census
 35.6 million older adults
 Constitute 12.3% of the population
 20.8 million women over age 65
 14.8 million men over age 65
Caring for Older Adults Holistically, 4th Edition
Demographics of Aging
 2002 Census (cont.)
 Average life expectancy is
 79 years for women
 72.9 years for men
 85+ years of age will increase from 4.6 million to 9.6
million in 2030
 More older women in the 85+ category
 65+ age group is projected to double within the next
25 years
Caring for Older Adults Holistically, 4th Edition
Nursing Philosophy
 What is your nursing philosophy?
 Need to develop own philosophy
 Simple
 Specific
 Has meaning to you
Caring for Older Adults Holistically, 4th Edition
Holistic Nursing
 Weaves technical skills with social science skills
 Focuses on persons’ whole being rather than just
specific parts
 Nurse takes an active role in developing a healing
relationship with the patient
 Listening is a critical activity for promoting holistic
care
Caring for Older Adults Holistically, 4th Edition
Holistic Nursing
 Encourages participation of patient in his or her
care
 Teamwork is important
 Nurse identifies potential team members
 Team members may include
 Family members or other significant others
 Various health-care providers
Caring for Older Adults Holistically, 4th Edition
Caring for Older Adults Holistically, 4th Edition
Human Caring
 Jean Watson
 The Science of Human Caring
 Importance of developing personalized care
 Foundation of caring
 View all humans as valued people
 Place an emphasis on the human relationship
 Focus on the human-to-human relationship
Caring for Older Adults Holistically, 4th Edition