A Day in the Life of an Academic Geriatric Nurse

Corrine Jurgens, PhD, RN

Clinical Associate Professor
Stony Brook University School of Nursing
Stony Brook, New York

Claire M. Fagin Post-doctoral Fellow 2004-2006

Research: Older adults with heart failure

When Corrine Jurgens, PhD, RN, began studying heart failure she realized that people of varying ages experience symptoms differently. She decided to focus on the unique needs of older adults. During her Claire M. Fagin Post-doctoral Fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, she investigated how older adults experience and respond to heart failure symptoms.

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corrine_jurgens Dr. Corrine Jurgens Dr. Jurgens is continuing this work as Clinical Associate Professor at Stony Brook University. As a result of the Hartford award, she received a grant from the American Heart Association to develop an intervention to improve symptom recognition. Symptoms of heart failure can be subtle and not specific to the illness, and they can increase insidiously over time. “My prior work showed that many patients were on the downhill slide for about three weeks, but didn't realize it until a week or less before hospital admission,” says Dr. Jurgens. If patients can recognize early warning signs, they can manage their condition, avoid hospitalization, and improve their quality of life.

“Because of the Hartford grant I received a grant from the American Heart Association to develop an intervention to improve symptom recognition among patients with heart failure.”

In addition to chairing the nursing committee of the Heart Failure Society of America, Dr. Jurgens also is part of an interdisciplinary working group of the American Heart Association. She advocated for both groups to co-write guidelines for heart failure management for people in skilled nursing facilities, which will be published in about a year. Patients with heart failure tend to have frequent hospitalizations for symptom management, and nursing home staff do not always recognize incremental changes in symptoms. “Weight gain in a nursing home resident is often considered good,” says Dr. Jurgens. “However, if weight gain due to worsening heart failure is not recognized and managed, it increases the risk of a preventable hospitalization.”

“I was stunned by the enthusiasm of nurses, physicians, social workers, dieticians, and nursing home staff in anticipation of these guidelines,” says Dr. Jurgens.

corrine_jurgens Dr. Jurgens examines a patient at the Long Island State Veterans Home. corrine_jurgens On the Cardiac Care Ward at Stony Brook Hospital Dr. Jurgens talks with cardiologist Dr. David L. Brown and his team about potential candidates for her study on heart failure in older adults. corrine_jurgens Dr. Jurgens enrolls a patient in her study. corrine_jurgens

corrine_jurgens Dr. Jurgens teaching a class in the nursing school. Patricia Archbold, DNSc, RN & Patricia Franklin, RN, MSN ›