Touhy: Toward Healthy Aging, 11th Edition
Chapter 01: Gerontological Nursing: Across the Continuum of Care
Student Review and Critical Thinking Questions (Evolve)
1. Discuss the implications of the geriatric workforce shortage.
2. Examine the issue of aging in your own city and state, nationally, and globally. What
demographic shifts are occurring? How do these changes affect the need for nurses
prepared in gerontological nursing at all levels?
3. Describe how attitudes toward aging have changed in the recent past. Examine your
own beliefs about aging and older people. Look at the activities of older people (relatives,
friends, and others) in your community. Do they fit your “beliefs” about aging? If not,
how do they differ? What do you need to do to have a more accurate understanding of
older people?
4. What strategies can the nursing profession use to promote positive attitudes toward
aging and older adults? Consider strategies that might be implemented in nursing
education, nursing practice, and nursing research.
5. Describe discipline-specific and interdisciplinary professional organizations that
promote the science and art of gerontological practice through research, education, and
policy development. Discuss the importance for nurses to be involved in interdisciplinary
professional organizations.
6. Interview an older adult (over 65 years of age). What does he or she see as the issues
of aging as they affect his or her well-being? How might the nurse assist that older person
in addressing the issues identified?
7. What are the proposed goals of Healthy People 2030? Go to
https://health.gov/healthypeople to obtain the most current information about Healthy
People 2030 goals and objectives for older adults.
8. Discuss how an interprofessional approach consisting of nursing, medicine, social
work, and other health-related professions (e.g., pharmacy, physical therapy,
occupational therapy, nutrition, etc.) may improve the health of older persons.
9. Discuss ways in which nursing research studies have impacted the quality of life for
older adults.
10. Discuss why nurses in acute care settings (or medical-surgical settings) need to be
competent in the care of the older adult.
11. Discuss the differences between community-based care and home-based care. What
are some of the nursing roles in each setting?
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12. List five areas identified to be in need for gerontological nursing research.
13. Review three research articles published in any of the Gerontology focused journals.
Discuss your findings with peer classmates.
14. Discuss the impact of hospital readmissions on the older adult. What are regulatory
agencies doing to address the problem?
Copyright © 2023 by Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.