Integrating gerontology competencies into graduate nursing programs.
Current demographic and health care utilization trends strongly indicate a rapidly increasing demand for nurses who are well qualified to care for older adults. Advanced practice nurses are positioned to assume leadership roles in geriatric nursing care; however, they must first acquire adequate preparatory education. This article describes two graduate nursing schools' curricular innovations that were funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation, in collaboration with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), through the Geriatric Nursing Education Project: Enhancing Gerontological/Geriatric Nursing for Advanced Practice Nursing. These programs at University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Pennsylvania State University incorporated techniques to translate the Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Nurse Specialist Competencies for Older Adult Care [American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2004). Nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist competencies for older adult care. Washington, DC: AACN] into an advanced practice curriculum and developed strategies to sustain curricular innovations. Finally, lessons learned from these two projects are discussed and recommendations are made for integrating geriatric nursing competencies into graduate programs.
University of North Carolina at Greensboro School of Nursing, 27402, USA. laurie_kennedy-malone@uncg.edu
Laurie
L
Kennedy-Malone
Janice
J
Penrod
Eileen M
EM
Kohlenberg
Susan A
SA
Letvak
Patricia B
PB
Crane
Anita
A
Tesh
Ann
A
Kolanowski
Judith
J
Hupcey
Paula
P
Milone-Nuzzo
D002983:Clinical Competence; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003479:Curriculum; D004511:Education, Nursing, Graduate / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005582:Foundations; D005851:Geriatric Nursing / Q000193:education* / Q000458:organization & administration; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D009657:North Carolina; D009720:Nurse Clinicians / Q000193:education* / Q000458:organization & administration; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000193:education* / Q000458:organization & administration; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D010414:Pennsylvania; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D016730:Program Development; D012956:Societies, Nursing; D014146:Training Support