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Geriatric Mental Illness

By Helen Farrar posted 10-19-2009 07:09 PM

  
Greetings!

My name is Helen Farrar and I am an RN working in rural Oklahoma with the geriatric psychiatric population and am interested in geriatric mental illness.  If anyone else is out there and interested in chatting about the subject, please let me know.  I am also a new doctoral student at the University of Oklahoma and plan research in this area if anyone has any news to share on that front.

Thanks and see you online!
Helen Farrar, MS, RN, BC
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Comments

Leslie Briscoe
11-11-2009 07:11 PM

I work at the Cleveland VA, in gero-psych. Outpt and doing C/L service. Very challenging work. The Ideal Unit???? I have lots of ideas.

Debi Schuhow
10-29-2009 01:53 PM

Hello everyone. I am currently practicing as a psychiatric mental health CNS and NP within the VA in Branson. I originally wanted to practice as a gerontological NP but the VA had other ideas. But don't fret! The Hartford Foundation graciously provided me a scholarship to become a gerontological NP and I will graduate soon. I am practicing in an outpatient clinic but find that I miss the nursing home and the geriatric population a great deal. I would love to dialogue with anyone who wants to talk about mentil illness in the geriatric population.
Theresa, as to your idea of the ideal unit for those suffering from Dementia I think the staff are the key elements. For example, I see calm, professional, flexible, creative staff who are able to role model appropriate behavior, and shape/mold the older person's behavior through their interactions with them. I think the physical envioronment plays a suportive role, by itself it is not effective at all (in my opinion). What do you think?

Theresa Stevenson
10-23-2009 05:47 AM

Hi Helen,
I am a new member of APNA. I am interested in Dementia and have worked in Nursing Homes and on Psych Units with Geriatric population. I would love to help plan and promote the implementation of the Ideal Unit for Dementia patients.
Terry