Assisted living nursing practice: admission assessment

Admission assessment, generally conducted by a registered nurse, is autonomous, without opportunity for dialogue with colleagues and other health care professionals and bounded by the nurse's knowledge and skills, state regulations, facility practices, and marketing. The fact that some states permit admission and retention of nursing home level-of-care residents and provision of end-of-life care means that the assessment has to be able to predict the resident's likely trajectory of well-being as well as chronic illness exacerbation. The nurse must have a clear perspective on staff competencies and judge whether additional education or training will be necessary. This article reviews assessment standards of practice as put forth by the American Assisted Living Nurses Association as part of its application for recognition of assisted living nursing as specialty nursing practice by the American Nurses Association. The role of the Licensed Practical Nurse/Licensed Vocational Nurse in resident assessment is also discussed.