EBN’s Twitter Chat about the Nurses’s Role in Complex Geriatric Assessment was a great discussion of the barriers and facilitators in caring for geriatric patients. The Twitter chat was hosted by Associate Editor Roberta Heale @robertaheale and @EBNursingBMJ with use of #ebnjc. A blog with a helpful introduction to the Twitter Chat can be found here https://blogs.bmj.com/ebn/2019/02/03/nurses-role-in-the-assessment-and-complex-geriatric-assessmenttwitter-chat-wednesday-february-6th-at-8pm-uk-time/

A summary of the key points are: 

1. Questions arose about what is complex geriatric assessment and tools were shared to demonstrate: https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/2a1cfa_7643308eb58f42c0a8af26b309b7fdd5.pdf
2. Concerns about care of the elderly were discussed https://www.bgs.org.uk/resources/a-brief-history-of-the-care-of-the-elderly
3. We discussed difficulty in recognizing delirium, particularly hypoactive delirium. A helpful article was posted: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMcp1605501
4. We discussed advance care planning.  A participant added a helpful resource https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/resources/dementia/
5. We explored ways to help keep people in their homes.  Virtual wards are one solution https://discover.dc.nihr.ac.uk/content/signal-000633/virtual-wards-reduce-readmissions-in-people-after-hospitalisation-for-heart-failure
6. We discussed keeping the patient at the centre of care and mobilizing a team approach with effective communication.

Don’t forget to participate in the next @EBNursingBMJ #ebnjc twitter chat on Wednesday, Feb 20th at 8pm UK time.