If you like working with the elderly and you enjoy the challenges of caring for them, then a career as a Geriatric Nurse Practitioner is a career path you might consider. Working with older persons is a challenging yet rewarding endeavor due to the many health conditions in this population. If you want to make a difference in someone's life, being a Geriatric Nurse Practitioner definitely fits the bill.
Before deciding on becoming a Geriatric Nurse Practitioner, it is best to know what qualities make for a good nurse. After all, nurses are at the forefront of primary care. They are the ones who give patients the hands-on care they require. As a nurse, you must be compassionate to those in your care. People who are sick and not feeling well will not be in the best of moods, so be prepared to deal with that. You must also pay close attention to detail. Nurses deal with medicines and medical equipment. Precise recordkeeping and records management is a definite must for those who want to be in the nursing field. Carelessness and negligence has no place when it comes to patient care. Lastly, you must be able to deal with stress. Day in and day out, you will face emergencies, and demands from the patients, their families and other people.
If those characteristics seem daunting, then becoming a Geriatric Nurse Practitioner is even more demanding. You must like working with old people and ready to face up to the challenge of geriatric primary care. GNPs work in a broad diversity of clinical agencies and practice settings. Before deciding on a school that offers the GNP program, find out from current and former students how the school is, and how the GNP program is managed. Research on financial aid options, including scholarships, grants, and education loans. Ask about job prospects and job placement assistance after graduation.
GNP programs are designed to broaden your knowledge base in providing care to older adults in various settings while working independently or collaboratively with other health care professionals. You will learn how to deliver quality health care to geriatric patients; and even educate the patients, families, and fellow nurses.
Fortunately, nursing is one of the fields here in the United States where there is a constant demand for educated nursing professionals. Add to that a growing elderly population that results in a rising demand for Geriatric Nurse Practitioners. Keep in mind that deciding on a career as a Geriatric Nurse Practitioner is one you should not take lightly. It requires commitment and dedication. If you have what it takes to become a GNP, then the results will be more rewarding than you imagined.
About the Author:
Geriatric nursing is a unique field because you get the chance to work with a very specific market of people and you learn to cater directly to their needs. A geriatric nurse is someone who is kind, gentle, loves to listen and yet can uphold their demeanor in a professional way at all times.
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