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NEW
AACN / HARTFORD INSTITUTE GUIDELINES DEFINE
CORE COMPETENCIES FOR GERIATRIC NURSING CARE
WASHINGTON,
D.C., September 14, 2000 -- Nurses who graduate from bachelor's-degree
programs should have the skill to recognize the complex interactions
of acute and chronic conditions common in the elderly, use
technology to enhance older adults' independence and safety,
and assess older adults' physical, cognitive, psychological,
social and spiritual status, say new guidelines issued by
the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and
the John
A Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing
(Hartford Institute).
Moreover,
because adequate content on care of older adults is dependent
on a "curriculum infusion" and sufficient numbers of prepared
faculty, competencies and teaching strategies in geriatric
care should be incorporated into separate courses and integrated
throughout baccalaureate nursing curricula, the two groups
urge in their new joint publication, Older
Adults: Recommended Baccalaureate Competencies and Curricular
Guidelines for Geriatric Nursing Care.
Older
people comprise a majority -- and growing -- proportion of
Americans who receive nursing care. Currently, 13 percent
of Americans, more than 25 million people, are over 65 years
of age, an eight-fold increase in the last 80 years, triple
that of the population as a whole. By 2030, federal figures
project 20 percent of the population will be over 65, nearly
10 percent will be over 80 years of age.
"As
the percentage of the elderly population continues to increase
dramatically, the demand for geriatric nursing care also is
rising. AACN and the Hartford Institute are pleased to have
developed these critically important core competencies for
baccalaureate nursing education to ensure that graduates will
be able to provide the necessary geriatric care for the nation's
aging population," says AACN President Carolyn A. Williams,
PhD, RN, FAAN.
"These
guidelines should be a must read for every dean and faculty
member who wants their curriculum to reflect content that
will assure the professional success of their students," says
Hartford Institute Director Mathy Mezey, EdD, RN, FAAN. "It
will provide leadership to them as they go through the accreditation
process."
More
than 48 percent of hospital patients, 80 percent of home care
patients, and 85 percent of all nursing home residents are
elderly. "With the exception of maternal-child and psychiatric
mental health nursing, the overwhelming majority of nurses
practicing in this country today are, by default, geriatric
nurses," the AACN/Hartford Institute guidelines note. "For
this reason, entry-level professional nurses must ensure that
older people receive optimum nursing care. Unfortunately,
most nurses practicing today have limited preparation in the
principles of geriatric nursing care. Only 23 percent of baccalaureate
nursing programs have a required course in geriatric nursing."
Older
Adults was developed by AACN and the Hartford Institute
in collaboration with the project's National Expert Panel
for Baccalaureate Competencies in Geriatric Nursing, a 25-member
task force of leading nurse educators, clinicians, and nursing
and other health care organization representatives. The publication's
competencies, curricular guidelines, and teaching strategies
are designed to work hand-in-hand with AACN's The
Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing
Practice, the Association's comprehensive standards
that define the fundamental knowledge, values and core competencies
expected of bachelor's-degree nursing graduates. The Essentials
stresses the need for course work and clinical experiences
to prepare graduates to deliver care across the lifespan,
with particular attention to changes due to aging.
Older
Adults defines 30 clinical competencies necessary for
nurses to provide high-quality care to older adults and their
families. In addition, the publication suggests content and
teaching strategies in critical thinking; communication; assessment;
health promotion, risk reduction, and disease prevention;
health care system and policy and nine other core competency
areas identified in the AACN baccalaureate Essentials,
and recommends steps for incorporating these concepts throughout
the nursing curriculum.
A
separate resource list of books, journals, organizations,
audiovisual references, and Web sites helps users locate geriatric
nursing "best practices" and teaching strategies.
Older Adults is available free online; click here
to download with Adobe Acrobat. (If you do not have
Adobe Acrobat, click here
for Older Adults.)
The American Association of
Colleges of Nursing is the national voice for university and
four-year-college education programs in nursing. Representing
more than 580 member schools of nursing at public and private
institutions nationwide, AACN's educational, research, governmental
advocacy, data collection, publications, and other programs
work to establish quality standards for bachelor's- and graduate-degree
nursing education, assist deans and directors to implement
those standards, influence the nursing profession to improve
health care, and promote public support of baccalaureate and
graduate nursing education, research, and practice. Web site:
http://www.aacn.nche.edu
The
Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing is the only nurse-led
institute in the country to set a national agenda to shape
the quality of care for older Americans by promoting the highest
level of competency in the nurses who deliver that care. The
Institute identifies and develops best practices in nursing
care for older adults and practicing professional nurses as
well as every nursing student. Its training initiatives cluster
in education, practice, research, and policy and consumer
education.
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CONTACT:
Robert Rosseter
(202) 463-6930, x231
rrosseter@aacn.nche.edu
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