Certified geriatric nurses care for older adults and help them with their unique health issues. Find out about the education you'll need after earning your nursing degree, and see what it takes to become certified as a geriatric nurse.
What is a Geriatric Nurse?
Geriatric nurses work with physicians and other health care professionals to provide primary care for older adults. As a geriatric nurse, you might offer preventative and palliative care at a nursing home, hospital, long-term care center or in another health care environment. If you're already a registered nurse (RN), you can become a certified gerontological or geriatric nurse by pursuing additional education and gaining experience working with elderly patients.
<table border="1"><tr><td><b>Career Description</b></td><td> Work with health care professionals caring for older adults in various health care settings</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>Training Expectations</b></td><td> Receive RN training and pass the NCLEX-RN exam; then complete specialized training in the form of an undergraduate mentoring program, graduate certificate program, or degree program in geriatric nursing or gerontology</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>Certification Options</b></td><td> Board certified RN, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist</td></tr>
<tr><td><b> Median Salary (2020)</b> </td><td> $75,330 (<i>for all registered nurses</i>)</td></tr>
<tr><td><b> Job Outlook (2019-2029)</b></td><td> 7% growth (<i>for all registered nurses</i>)</td></tr>
</table><p><i>Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics</i>
</p><h3 id="section---WhatTrainingDoINeed">What Training Do I Need?</h3><p>You can find RN training programs at technical schools, community colleges, universities and hospitals. These programs might include introductory courses in health care for older adults. Once you've completed your training, you'll need to sit for the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) and meet any other state-level licensure requirements.
</p><p>After earning your RN license, you might take part in an undergraduate mentoring program or graduate certificate program in gerontological nursing. At the graduate level, you also can find degree programs that offer an emphasis or concentration in geriatric nursing or gerontology, including nurse practitioner (NP) and clinical nurse specialist (CNS) programs. Additionally, some schools offer Doctor of Nursing Practice programs in gerontology.
</p><h3 id="section---HowDoIGetCertified">How Do I Get Certified?</h3><p>The American Nurses Credentialing Center offers three voluntary certification options in gerontological nursing. The lowest level-designation, RN-Board Certified, requires an RN license and a minimum of two years of experience, 2,000 clinical hours and 30 hours of continuing education in gerontological nursing within the past three years.
</p><p>If you have a graduate or doctoral degree in nursing, you can pursue certification as a gerontological nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist. Additional qualifications include current RN licensure and at least 500 supervised clinical hours.</p>
