Instructor’s Note: This assignment is designed to be the cornerstone of your learning in BSN 425. By mastering the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA), you are not just completing a paper; you are acquiring a vital lens through which to view older adults—not as a collection of symptoms, but as whole individuals with rich histories and specific needs. This brief details everything you need to succeed, from the specific assessment tools to the formatting nuances that ensure your scholarship shines.

Assessment Brief: Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) & Holistic Care Plan

Course: BSN 425 — Gerontological Nursing

Assessment Type: Written Case Study & Care Plan

Word Count: 1,500 – 2,000 words (excluding references and appendices)

Due Date: Week 6, Sunday by 11:59 PM

Weight: 30% of Final Grade

1. Assignment Overview

For this assessment, you are required to conduct a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) on a chosen older adult (aged 65 or older) and develop an evidence-based, person-centered care plan. You may select a patient from your clinical rotation, a consenting family member, or a standardized case study provided in the course resources.

The goal is to demonstrate your ability to synthesize physical, functional, psychosocial, and environmental data to identify geriatric syndromes and promote healthy aging. You must move beyond simple observation to critical analysis, using standardized tools to justify your nursing interventions.

2. Assignment Instructions

Please structure your paper using the following headings to ensure all criteria are met.

Part A: Holistic Assessment (Approx. 750 words)

In this section, you will present the data gathered during your assessment. You must use valid, reliable screening tools.

• Health History & Polypharmacy Review: Summarize the client’s past medical history and current medication list. critically analyze the medication list for potential interactions or inappropriate prescribing using the 2023 AGS Beers Criteria®.

• Functional Assessment: Evaluate the client’s independence using:

  • Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living (ADL)

  • Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) Scale

• Cognitive & Psychological Screening: Assess mental status and mood using tools such as the Mini-Cog© or Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS).

• Physical & Environmental Safety: Briefly assess fall risk (e.g., using the Hendrich II Fall Risk Model or Timed Up and Go) and evaluate their living environment for safety hazards.

Part B: Critical Analysis & Care Planning (Approx. 750 words)

Based on the data gathered in Part A, identify three (3) priority nursing diagnoses or health issues.

• Synthesis of Findings: Explain why these three issues are priorities. How do the functional limitations identified in Part A impact the client’s quality of life?

• Evidence-Based Interventions: For each priority issue, propose specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) nursing interventions. You must support these interventions with current peer-reviewed literature (published within the last 5-7 years).

• Interprofessional Collaboration: Identify one other healthcare discipline (e.g., Physical Therapy, Social Work, Pharmacy) essential to this care plan and explain their specific role in optimizing client outcomes.

Part C: Conclusion (Approx. 250 words)

Summarize the key takeaways from this assessment. Reflect briefly on how the CGA process differs from a standard head-to-toe assessment and its value in promoting autonomy and dignity for the older adult.

3. Formatting & Submission Guidelines

• Style: APA 7th Edition (or Harvard, as per specific syllabus).

• Font: Times New Roman, 12-point, double-spaced.

• Margins: 1-inch margins on all sides.

• File Name: LastName_FirstName_BSN425_Assessment2.docx

• Privacy: Ensure all patient data is de-identified (use initials or a pseudonym) to comply with HIPAA/confidentiality standards.

4. Grading Rubric (Summary)

Criteria	Description	Weight
Assessment Data	Accurate application of standardized tools (Katz, Lawton, Beers Criteria, etc.)	25%
Critical Analysis	Deep synthesis of data; identification of interrelated geriatric syndromes.	30%
Care Planning	Evidence-based, realistic, and person-centered interventions supported by literature.	30%
Writing & APA	Clarity, flow, grammar, and perfect citation formatting.	15%

Learning Resources & Bibliography

1. American Geriatrics Society Beers Criteria® Update Expert Panel (2023) ‘American Geriatrics Society 2023 updated AGS Beers Criteria® for potentially inappropriate medication use in older adults’, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 71(7), pp. 2052–2081. doi: 10.1111/jgs.18372.

2. Ellis, G., Gardner, M., Tsiachristas, A., Langhorne, P., Burke, O., Harwood, R.H., Conroy, S.P., Kircher, T., Somme, D., Saltvedt, I. and Wald, H. (2017) ‘Comprehensive geriatric assessment for older adults admitted to hospital’, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (9). doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD006211.pub3. (Note: This remains the seminal systematic review for CGA effectiveness).

3. Fulmer, T., Mate, K.S. and Berman, A. (2018) ‘The Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative: Jumps-tarting the quadrupled aim’, Innovation in Aging, 2(suppl_1), p.846. doi: 10.1093/geroni/igy023.3155.

4. World Health Organization (2019) Integrated care for older people (ICOPE): Guidelines on community-level interventions to manage declines in intrinsic capacity. Geneva: World Health Organization. Available at: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241550109.¹

5. Mooijaart, S.P. and van der Velde, N. (2022) ‘Frailty, complexity and the role of the comprehensive geriatric assessment in older patients’, Heart, 108(17), pp. 1344–1350. doi: 10.1136/heartjnl-2021-319520².