Environment encompasses more than the home where an older person lives; it also includes emotional attachments to the broader community called place. Whether people live alone or with family members or friends, home is an important consideration throughout their lives. This chapter first explores what is meant by home, including similarities and differences between private homes and institutions. It considers place and housing in the context of dwelling types and recent social movements. Environmental theory in gerontology and aging in place provide a framework to explore ways in which home environments can help or hinder people as they age. The chapter also looks at ways in which environments can enable or disable people by their physical features (e.g., accessible entryways) and explore concepts related to age-friendly communities. It finally provides a brief vignette that introduces some of the themes surrounding home, place, and housing for older persons.

This chapter reflects on how this book focuses on aging as a global phenomenon and attempts to see how our local knowledge plays in Indonesia or Bolivia, to compare what we think we know about our own ageways with what can be learned about the thoughts of other cultures on the subject. This chapter identifies 13 major global themes and describes how the world community—through the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations—is responding to the burdens that economic and demographic changes are placing on older people and their families. The chapter concludes with a call to readers for global leadership.

The Gerontological Nurse Certification Review prepares registered nurses (RN) to take the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Gerontological Nursing Board Certification Examination. Candidates who successfully pass the exam will become board-certified RNs and will receive the credential RN-BC. By obtaining this credential, nurses attain certification on par with board-certified physicians, and advanced practice nurses. There may be a variety of incentives to become certified. Many institutions will include certification as an important step toward promotion and some institutions will award a bonus or a differential pay raise for certification. Hospitals participating in the Magnet^® hospital program will encourage further education and certification of their nursing staff as an important step in their Magnet journey. This chapter explains the ANCC testing format, the application and scheduling of the test date for certification in gerontology, and the general hints to improve one's preparation for the exam.

Preparing for a standardized exam can cause some anxiety and fear. This chapter discusses the strategies for preparing the gerontologic nurse certification exam. It outlines the similarity of the thought processes that occur when taking the exam and being in practice. Some of the most significant content information necessary to competently care for older adults reflects assessing, analyzing, planning, implementing, and evaluating patient outcomes of conditions that older adults most frequently experience. These conditions are denoted as red flag problems. Timing oneself with practice questions is good preparation for a successful outcome on a standardized test such as this certification exam. The chapter provides examples of challenging questions that may require some extra attention to answer correctly. It also provides strategies for analyzing the questions and the clues to memorizing information. When reviewing content before taking an exam, it is helpful to use certain methods of remembering information.

This chapter discusses the scope and standards of geriatric nursing practice relating to leadership and management, research, ethical and legal issues, and professional competency. All gerontological nurses must be leaders in making sure they provide the highest quality care to the older adults they are responsible for, be it direct bedside care or facilitating patient care by others. Nurses working with older adults need to practice good management, which is described as being able to manage the staff and the budget, follow the organization's policies and procedures, and generate high-quality care. Nurses working with older adults in long-term care facilities can attend professional development classes on a variety of topics, such as the organizational structure, philosophy, goals, and objectives of the agency. The nursing profession was the first of the healthcare disciplines to develop gerontological care standards for their members to demonstrate and be tested for their level of expertise.