Here are two truths:
About 1 in 5 older adults (7.5 million) currently has a diagnosable mental disorder such as depression or dementia, and this number is expected to reach 15 million by 2030.
The nation’s 3 million registered nurses represent the largest segment of the professional health care workforce providing care for older adults.
This reality makes the work of geropsychiatric nurses invaluable. Yet, despite this need, only 16% of psychiatric nurses have subspecialty preparation in geriatrics.
In order to meet the demands of our rapidly aging society, the Hartford-funded Geropsychiatric Nursing Collaborative housed at the American Academy of Nursing under the leadership of Drs. Cornelia Beck, Kathleen Buckwalter, and Lois Evans have created a new short video: “Discover Mental Health: The Forgotten Piece in Elder Care.”
In this video, geropsychiatric nurse leaders describe the rewards of working in this field. The goal is to attract more geropsych nursing specialists as well as encourage all nursing students to gain the requisite knowledge, skills, and compassion needed to improve the quality of life for this neglected population. The video can be easily used in the classroom to educate and inspire students.
You can find the video in a variety of places:
- AAN’s web site
- The Hartford Foundation’s YouTube site
- The Portal of Geriatric Online Education POGOe, Product #20893 (You must have an account to access the video for download, but registration is free.)
- Disruptive Women in Health Care blog
Are you using the video? Tell us about it below.