Question

In 200 words Describe considerations in dealing with geriatric patients or older adults. What might some of the challenges be in communicating with them? How can you respond to these challenges? What are the physiologic considerations with older adults and how can they be addressed

Answer 1

The geriatric patients needs love and care. When caring for geriatric patients hospitalists must look beyond the disease centric approach. In addition, clinicians should consider many factors including interactions between treatments, patients preferences for medical treatment and quality of life, their estimated prognosis.

We encounter numerous challenges as we age. vision and hearing decline with age and have major impact on communication. Elderly people often fatigue more easily than younger people and fatigue makes it harder to keep communications lines open.

Mental status and function, frequently declines in aging process. and drags the ability to communicate down with it. some diseases that impair brain function such as strokes, parkinson's and dementia are more common among the elderly and often have profound effects on many aspects of communication.

To communicate effectively with these patients it is important to made connection with them physically and emotionally. Patients want to feel that you have spent quality time with them and that they are important. some older patients have vision and hearing loss, reading your lips may be crucial for them to receive the information correctly. Sitting in front of them may also reduce distractions.

A person's physiology is ever changing at structural and molecular levels as they age. The changes to the nervous system results mostly in cognitive impairments, the cardiovascular system results in higher blood pressure with lower cardiac output, the respiratory system results in reduction of arterial oxyhemoglobin , the gastrointestinal system results in delayed gastric emptying with reduction of arterial oxyhemoglobin.