How Do I Become a Geriatric Nurse? Career Guide and Salary

Geriatric Nurse Career Overview

Where you'll work: Hospices, assisted living facilities, home health, retirement communities, and Veterans Affairs healthcare facilities.

What you'll do: Care for older adults, often treating conditions common in later life such as dementia, diabetes, heart failure, stroke, chronic pain, and cancer.

Minimum degree required: ADN or BSN, though many employers prefer or require a BSN.

Who it's a good fit for: This work takes strong communication skills, patience, and resilience, since you will see patients decline and pass away.

Job perks: You often build closer, longer relationships with patients, and geriatric nurses are in high demand because of an aging population.

Advancement: With an advanced degree you can become a geriatric nurse practitioner or geriatric clinical nurse specialist, or move into leadership.

Median annual salary: $93,600 (BLS median for registered nurses).

What Is a Geriatric Nurse?

Geriatric nurses, sometimes called gerontological nurses, care for older adults with physical and mental health conditions that can make it hard to communicate, self-care, remember instructions, or move safely. You might care for patients at high risk of falling, or who cannot verbally express pain, hunger, or other needs.

The work is demanding but rewarding. Many geriatric nurses like long-term care settings because they get to know each patient. "Geriatric nursing is unique because the population you care for is unique," says Carrie D. Brecheisen, RN, a geriatric nurse with more than 30 years of experience and nursing supervisor for Saint Raphael Nursing Services in Wichita, Kansas. "This generation is living history. The seniors have so many great, eye-opening stories. They have first-hand accounts of some of the biggest historical events."

How to Become a Geriatric Nurse

The first step is an RN license, which means either a two-year Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) or a four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). Employers increasingly prefer a BSN, but both prepare you for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN). Pass it, and you can apply for RN licensure in your state.

You can work as an entry-level geriatric nurse once you are licensed. As you gain experience, your degree shapes how you advance. A BSN, for instance, can open leadership or administrative roles. "Geriatric nurses can work in many facets within long-term care, skilled nursing, or assisted living," Brecheisen says. Those roles include facility administrators, nursing directors, case managers, wound care nurses, and infection control nurses.

You can advance further by earning a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) or Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and becoming an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN). Two main geriatric APRN paths exist:

Geriatric Nurse Practitioner: Acts as a primary care provider for older adults, assessing, diagnosing, and prescribing treatments. They may visit patients in nursing and assisted living facilities.

Geriatric Clinical Nurse Specialist: Provides advanced care and works in a leadership capacity to improve nursing care and patient safety.

Licenses and Certifications

No certification is required to work as a geriatric nurse, but earning one shows dedication and experience and can improve your prospects. The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) offers the Gerontological Nursing Certification (GERO-BC). You need an RN license in good standing plus:

• At least two years of full-time RN experience
• At least 2,000 hours of clinical experience in gerontological nursing within the past three years
• At least 30 hours of continuing education in gerontological nursing in the last three years

You must pass an exam, and certification renews every five years with 75 continuing education credit hours.

Geriatric Nurse vs Gerontologist

The two sound alike and overlap, but they differ. Geriatric nursing centers on the physical and mental health needs of older adults and involves direct clinical care. Gerontology is a healthcare role, not a nursing one. A gerontologist focuses on the social and psychosocial effects of aging alongside physical and mental health, often taking on administrative roles and policy advocacy rather than direct patient care, though that has shifted somewhat in recent years.

What Do Geriatric Nurses Do?

Geriatric nurses handle standard RN duties: administering medications, caring for wounds, providing treatments, monitoring vital signs, and developing care plans. Because they work with older adults, they also need a strong understanding of conditions common in later life, including diabetes, heart failure, arthritis, osteoporosis, stroke, cancer, dementia, chronic pain, Alzheimer's disease, and limited mobility.

Managing these conditions adds specific duties:

• Monitoring fall risk and developing safety plans
• Helping patients with limited mobility do range-of-motion activities
• Keeping patients with Alzheimer's and dementia secure and cared for
• Checking on patients who cannot communicate to keep them clean, safe, and pain-free
• Watching for signs of depression or isolation
• Communicating with family members about a patient's health and progress

Where You'll Work

Geriatric nurses work in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities, plus hospices, VA facilities, home health agencies, assisted living facilities, retirement communities, physicians' offices, and mental health hospitals. Some settings are unexpected. "A surprising workplace is convents," Brecheisen says. "With the aging population, there aren't enough nuns joining to care for the elder population, so they need to hire outside nursing care."

Salary

The BLS does not track geriatric nurses specifically, but the RN median is $93,600, and your title and experience affect your pay. Geriatric RNs with years in the role can move into management in skilled nursing or long-term care; the BLS reports that medical and health services managers in nursing and long-term care facilities earn a median of $97,360. Advancing your education raises your ceiling further: nurse practitioners across all specialties earn a median of $129,210.

Career Outlook

The baby boomer generation is aging, which drives healthcare demand two ways. As boomer professionals retire, they create workforce openings, including in nursing. And people need more care as they age, so a larger older population means more demand for services.

Nursing is projected to see strong growth. The BLS projects about 5% growth in RN roles from 2024 to 2034, and nurse practitioner roles are projected to grow about 40% over the same period, among the fastest of all occupations. The BLS does not project specifically for geriatric nurses, but Brecheisen says demand is high. "The nursing shortage is hitting in every field, and geriatric nurses are always needed."

Is Geriatric Nursing for Me?

Geriatric nursing takes patience, excellent communication, and the ability to stay calm in a crisis. You will also need resilience, since you are likely to see patients decline and pass away. Other helpful traits include flexibility, active listening, openness to learning, adaptability, a sense of humor, and strong problem-solving.

Professional Resources

Staying current on news, trends, and research helps build your career. A few associations worth knowing:

The American Society on Aging (ASA): Helps professionals who work with older adults, including nurses, social workers, and gerontologists, build their skills and knowledge.

The American Geriatrics Society (AGS): Focuses on the clinical care of older Americans, advocates for healthcare reforms, and offers career resources and industry news.

Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association (GAPNA): Focuses on geriatric APRNs but also accepts geriatric RNs, offering continuing education, career resources, and conferences.