The November/December 2007 issue of Geriatric Nursing, a journal published by Elsevier, Inc., features a special supplement on the results of the highly successful Nurse Competence in Aging (NCA) Initiative. The project engaged members of 55 specialty nursing organizations to enhance geriatric-related education that is highly targeted to nurses practicing within each specialty.
Begun in 2002, the five-year initiative was funded by the Atlantic Philanthropies (USA) through a grant to the American Nurses Association (ANA) through the American Nurses Foundation (ANF). It represented a strategic alliance between ANA, the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), and The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing.
Through the support provided by NCA, 80 percent of NCA participating organizations developed a set of geriatric competencies for their members; 80 percent used Web technology to promote issues of care for older adults to their members, many of them appointing one or more "Web Fellow" to implement the geriatric portion of the Web site; and 91 percent promoted geriatrics at their associations' conferences. More than half of the organizations added geriatric language to their scope and standards documents, developed geriatric special interest groups, or developed member awards for geriatric competence.
"Specialty nurses constitute a large component of the nurse workforce in ambulatory-care settings, hospitals, home care, and long-term care, where in most settings the majority of patients are over 65. Yet, most of these nurses have not received education targeted toward geriatric patients," says Mathy Mezey, director of The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing at NYU College of Nursing. "There is much evidence that nurses who have been educated about principles of geriatric care, either in academic programs or through on-the-job training, contribute to improved outcomes for their older patients."
The Geriatric Nursing supplement will be highly useful as a blueprint for associations in the future to undertake the task of improving their approach to care for older adults.
The supplement is available free of charge online at http://www.gnjournal.com/issues/contents?issue_key=S0197-4572(07)X0065-X
To obtain a print copy of the supplement, please contact Elsevier Customer Service at elspcs@elsevier.com.
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I found a site that is designed to connect all nurses. It is a social network, much like facebook, but it was created so that nurses can keep in touch, share stories, ask questions, and meet people with similar interests. http://www.mynursebook.com
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