Although Burnside, a geriatric nursing pioneer, was writing about older
people, her words ring true as we look at the history of geriatric nursing
and the significant work of the geriatric nursing pioneers. To understand
the history of geriatric nursing today, we need to know where the pioneers
have come from, what they’ve had available, what they’ve given up,
and how they feel about the past, for all that colors and sets the course
for the present and future.