Running head: FALLS IN THE ELDERLY 1
NR103
Falls in the Elderly
Chamberlain University College of Nursing
NR103: Transition to the Nursing Professions
Falls in the Elderly
This paper is to discuss falls and the impact they have on the elderly. This paper will pull
information from both personal experience and journal reports. “A fall is defined as an event in
which a person unintentionally drops from an upright or other fixed, secure position to a lower or
less erect position on the floor or the ground for reasons that are not related to a suddenly
occurring medical condition (Schub & Heering, 2018).”
Until the earth no longer has gravity falls will happen, regardless of the precautions we
take. They happen at homes, hospitals, care centers, they have happened every where in the
world. The elderly is at higher risk for falls and even more likely to need medical attention after
a fall. About twenty percent of falls need medical attention and another ten percent cause serious
injury (Schub & Heering, 2018). In September 2019 my grandmother was walking and
tripped in her own home, falling to the ground. Her fall landed her in the twenty percent who
need medical attention and the ten percent that cause serious injury. Her fall resulted in a,
shattered elbow, a greenstick fracture of the scapula and a segmental fracture of the humorous.
This fall alone has cost her three surgeries, a heart attack, a pulmonary embolism, a year of
physical therapy and an amount of money she will not pay off in her lifetime.
NR103
Falls in the Elderly
Chamberlain University College of Nursing
NR103: Transition to the Nursing Professions
Falls in the Elderly
This paper is to discuss falls and the impact they have on the elderly. This paper will pull
information from both personal experience and journal reports. “A fall is defined as an event in
which a person unintentionally drops from an upright or other fixed, secure position to a lower or
less erect position on the floor or the ground for reasons that are not related to a suddenly
occurring medical condition (Schub & Heering, 2018).”
Until the earth no longer has gravity falls will happen, regardless of the precautions we
take. They happen at homes, hospitals, care centers, they have happened every where in the
world. The elderly is at higher risk for falls and even more likely to need medical attention after
a fall. About twenty percent of falls need medical attention and another ten percent cause serious
injury (Schub & Heering, 2018). In September 2019 my grandmother was walking and
tripped in her own home, falling to the ground. Her fall landed her in the twenty percent who
need medical attention and the ten percent that cause serious injury. Her fall resulted in a,
shattered elbow, a greenstick fracture of the scapula and a segmental fracture of the humorous.
This fall alone has cost her three surgeries, a heart attack, a pulmonary embolism, a year of
physical therapy and an amount of money she will not pay off in her lifetime.
