Key Challenges
Hospitalisation can be an overwhelming experience for older people and it can make them vulnerable to a variety of complications, adverse events and functional decline. Older people who are admitted to an acute care setting such as a hospital, face particular challenges that require special consideration. For example, if not carefully managed, they may lose their usual condition and level of function, as a result of reduced activity and stimulation. Admission to hospital can also pose major challenges in terms of an older person's confidence, independence, and change of routine.
Hospital-based nurses can help to ensure that older people regain a level of functioning that is as close as possible to, or even better than, what it was before their admission. To achieve this, you will need to ensure that the older patient is assessed holistically, interventions are appropriate, and care is coordinated.
Thinking challenge
