Guidance in evaluating competency in the care of older adult patients is critical to raising the bar for geriatrics. The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing (HIGN) has developed a core set of hospital nursing competencies expected of nurses that care for older adults.

Competencies cover the following areas:

• Communication
• Physiological and Psychological Age Changes
• Pain
• Skin Integrity
• Functional Status
• Restraints
• Elder Abuse
• Discharge Planning

The development and testing of the hospital competencies was reported in the following journal article: Mezey, M., Quinlan, E., Fairchild, S., Vezina, M. (2006). "Geriatric Competencies for RNs in Hospitals." Journal for Nurses in Staff Development 22(1): 2-10.

View the hospital competencies - Competency: Care of Adult 65 years+ (PDF)

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