A gerontological specialist nurse would synthesise gerontological and generic nursing knowledge and skill to provide expert, focused and holistic care

OLDER PEOPLE have frequently received care thatneither meets their individual needs nor reflectstheir choices (McCormack and Ford 1999). Allolder people have the nght to skilled and accurate assessment, and expert nursing interventions. The undoubtedexpertise demonstrated by individual nurses is vulnerable if it is not articulated in such a way that makes dearto policy makers and budget holders the benefits ofexpert nurses working with older people (RCN 1997). The key attributes of an expert nurse have been definedby Manley and McCormack (1997) and were derivedfrom the work of Benner (1984) and Benner et at (1996). Set out below is a framework for expert practice thatnurses working with older people might consider in relation to their own practice. This framework underpinsseveral strands of the RCN's work in gerontological nurc-ing and is integral to its work on curriculum development for gerontological nurse specialists.