As the elderly population in the United States grows, you’ll find that geriatric nurses are needed throughout health care, in every facility and position that offers care to geriatric patients. Within this scope, there are a number of specific locations that you can expect to be popular places for geriatric nurses to work. These settings include:

• Assisted living centers: In assisted living centers, geriatric nurses will often be a part of a geriatric team including physicians, pharmacists, and social workers.
• Hospitals: There is a need for geriatric specialty nursing care throughout most hospitals, however you will specifically find units that specialize in rehabilitation, Acute Care of the Elderly (ACE), gero-psychiatric care, and same-day surgery units.
• Private residences: Many geriatric patients prefer to receive care in the privacy and comfort of their own homes, so geriatric nurses are in great demand in private residences.
• Residential care facilities: In a residential care facility such as a nursing home, you’ll manage the care of residents, which will include assessment, developing programs, prevention, management of impairments, and more.
• Nursing research facilities: Geriatric nurses work in nursing research facilities to address the concerns of older adults, which includes reducing hospitalizations, physical restraints, improving urinary incontinence care, decreasing the cost of geriatric care, and more.
• Nursing schools: With education and experience in geriatric nursing, you can join a faculty to teach others courses in geriatrics.
• Managed care companies: As part of a managed care company, you’ll work on programs and ideas for disease management, automation of medical records, as well as state and federal regulations.

In any one of these geriatric nursing settings, you can expect to have a full and rewarding career. By studying to become a geriatric nurse, you’ll ensure that you have a place to work within these facilities and organizations.