|
Hartford Innovations/Recognition of Expertise Sustain
Programs on Both Campuses
AACN proudly hosted Integrating Gerontology Competencies:
Process and Strategies, a panel at the 2006 master's conference
in San Antonio that included presentations by Geriatric
Nursing Education project directors Dr. Laurie Kennedy-Malone
(UNCG) and Dr. Janice Penrod (Penn State University). Their
discussions that focused on planning and implementing integration
of gerontology across masters' programs, received rave reviews
from conference participants.
In addition to imparting pragmatic information regarding
strategies for gerontological curricular change, they also
shared their wisdom about sustaining those changes. Both program
directors, having begun their Hartford projects in environments
that boasted long standing commitment to the gerontological
nursing cause, built on that momentum toward creation of exemplary
programs.
The
UNCG Experience
Hartford Funding Stimulates Additional Curricular Integration
Since the early 1990's, UNCG has offered a GNP program that
continues to attract qualified gerontology-prepared faculty
(in teaching, research, and clinical expertise) and significant
numbers of committed students. The school had already pre-Hartford,
begun integrating gerontology content into the graduate core
and support courses.
Receipt of the Hartford funding inspired faculty to make
further enhancements by focusing on specialty curriculum in
all five of their concentrations (adult/gerontology nurse
practitioner; nursing education; nurse anesthesia; nursing
administration, and adult clinical nurse specialist). With
the Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Nurse Specialist Competencies
of Older Adult Care (AACN, 2004) as their guide, they
improved their curricula relative to these competencies. They
increased required gerontology-related reading; included larger
percentages of applicable questions on tests; added more pertinent
clinical sites; ensured students' familiarity with Hartford
best practice assessment tools; allowed for increased gerontology
simulation experiences; and encouraged evidence-based practice
and scholarly writing.
Increase in Scholarly Productivity Results from Hartford
Gerontology-related scholarship activities that began during
the grant implementation period are continuing post-grant.
Since the Hartford funding, GNP students are more involved
in: joining gerontological nursing organizations and seeking
leadership roles within those organizations. Dr. Kennedy-Malone
reports that she helps guide the student thinking process
in the presentation and publication direction. She encourages
students to compose abstracts about their experiences with
their gerontology patients. One of the recent graduates submitted
the evidence-based protocol that she developed in the GNP
program to be considered for publication by the Research Translation
and Dissemination Core, Gerontological Nursing Interventions
Research Center (GNIRC) of the University of Iowa College
of Nursing.
Students are also encouraged to develop as leaders. With faculty
"aging out" in general, their roles as academicians
and practitioners are even more critical. They must market
their GNP expertise, build roles for themselves at their practice
sites, educate other health care providers and the public
re: the importance of their specific knowledge and expertise.
At their own initiative, graduates of this GNP program have
organized to meet together on a regular basis, and are starting
a North Carolina state chapter of the NCGNP (National Conference
of Gerontological Nurse Practitioners).
GNP Students Participate Regularly in Interdisciplinary
Health Fairs
The GNP program now routinely participates in the school's
regularly scheduled interdisciplinary health fairs (eight
this year). With students and faculty participants from schools
of communication and speech, gerontology, nutrition, exercise
and sports science (to name a few), the GNP students perform
screening assessments and impart specific health and educational
information to local senior clientele (i.e. rural Caucasian,
inner-city African American and Vietnamese individuals). Having
established themselves as an integral component of these fairs,
GNP students look forward to many more years of involvement.
Community Partnership Opportunities Expand
Evercare, a provider of health plans for aging, and a business
unit of UnitedHealth Group, became interested in negotiating
a partnership with UNCG, largely as a result of the school's
reputation as a Hartford grantee. Dr. Kennedy-Malone reports
that when grant monies that support gerontology education
are pursued, the school's distinction as a John A. Hartford
Foundation program is used as leverage. "The school's
association with Hartford plays a big part in our continued
success," observes Dr. Kennedy-Malone.
The Penn State University
Experience
Timing Right for Hartford Curricular Innovations
Pre-Hartford, Penn State's nursing school invested most of
its resources in creation of its FNP and CNS options, neither
program having included at that time, in-depth analysis of
gerontological nursing issues. The Hartford funding enabled
the school to employ use of the Nurse Practitioner and
Clinical Nurse Specialist Competencies of Older Adult Care
(AACN, 2004), toward separating and strengthening specialized
geriatric content and clinical experiences in both programs.
Faculty with Gerontology Expertise Gather at Penn State
"The Hartford funding revitalized gerontology here,"
boasts Dr. Janice Penrod. For the first time in several decades,
the school is now home to an unprecedented number of gerontology-dedicated
faculty, thus a strong research core is established. Dr. Penrod
reports that collaboration among faculty members, the most
significant outcome of the Hartford project, "brought
people to the table who had never before sat together."
Collaborative spin-offs include the formation of a geriatric
nursing research group (6-7 faculty and graduate student researchers)
whose members meet regularly. Recently, the group members
wrote a cooperative paper on the loss of personhood in dementia.
Interdisciplinary research teams are focusing on gerontologically
related topics that include the provision of end-of-life care
to older Americans and health issues relative to older male
prisoners. These projects highlight interdisciplinary team
efforts toward provision of improved care for the elderly.
Hartford Inspires Student Learning Trajectory
Dr. Penrod reports that the Hartford project has put in place
a student learning process that ultimately turns out nurses
who have become both skilled clinicians and critical thinkers.
This process begins during their masters' programs at which
point faculty encourages them to pursue research agendas.
With this research interest instilled the students graduate
and practice in their various work sites, having become trained
to stay literature-current and to be open to research opportunities
that involve older adults. Ultimately, their vision broadens
to include emphasis on practice-related research, enabling
them to provide only the finest quality of evidence-based
nursing care to older adults in their practice settings.
Conclusion
UNCG and Penn State University created momentum with their
Hartford funding that continues to build and to sustain their
gerontology APN programs. They've enhanced their entire curricula
and continue to attract gero-savvy faculty to their schools
of nursing. Scholarly involvement relative to gerontology
continues at rapid-fire pace. Both schools are engaged in
related initiatives with other disciplines on their campuses
and with community partners. And most importantly, they are
graduating students who are using their clinical skills and
research know-how to establish themselves as mentors and leaders
in their practice sites and communities.
Principal Investigator Contact Information:
Laurie Kennedy-Malone PhD APRN BC
Associate Professor and Director of Adult/Gerontological
Nurse Practitioner Program
School of Nursing, UNCG
407 Moore Bldg.
PO Box 26170
Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
Telephone: 336-334-5012
laurie_kennedy-malone@uncg.edu
Janice Penrod, PhD, RN
Assistant Professor of Nursing
The Pennsylvania State University
307 Health and Human Development East
University Park, PA 16802
Phone: 814-863-9734
Fax: 814-865-6625
jlp198@psu.edu
|
