HGNI New Directions

Welcome to New Directions, a publication of the Hartford Geriatric Nursing Initiative (HGNI). This e-newsletter is designed to inform interested academic and practice leaders, faculty members, students, practitioners and others about the work of the HGNI and provide the latest news and information relevant to geriatric nursing.

As many of you know, the HGNI is preparing professional nurses to play leadership roles in improving the health of older adults. In partnership with the nation's nursing schools and a variety of health care organizations and systems, this dynamic, national initiative, supported through a $38 million investment from The John A. Hartford Foundation, works in five areas, including:

Shaping nursing practice to best meet the health care needs of older adults;

Enhancing professional education to ensure all nurses are prepared to treat older patients;

Promoting research needed to guide the care and promote the health of older people;

Developing leadership in academic and professional settings; and

Demonstrating nursing's commitment to enacting public policy that improves older Americans' health care.

We are proud to represent this critically needed effort, which is involving the nation's top nurses--including you--in making a difference in the health care of our nation's older adults. If you would like more contact information about, and links to all of the programs of the HGNI, please visit the HGNI's Web site at www.HGNI.org.

In this Issue

1. HGNI Partner Highlight--AACN: Creating Careers in Geriatric Nursing
2. Tools, Resources & Opportunities
3. Announcements
4. Links of the Month:GeroNurseOnline and NCOA's Center for Healthy Aging

1. HGNI Partner Highlight--AACN: Creating Careers in Geriatric Nursing

In September 2001, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) received a $2 million grant from The John A. Hartford Foundation to promote career opportunities in geriatric advanced practice nursing and improve the quality of care for older adults. Through this initiative, AACN provides scholarship monies to schools of nursing with geriatric advanced practice nursing programs to expand their student base. In addition to eliminating financial barriers to education, the project provides for networking, mentorship, role modeling, and leadership activities between scholarship awardees and experts in geriatric nursing. More than 150 nurses have received scholarships so far through this program. Renewed for 2005, the program will award grant monies to 18 nursing schools across the country, which will provide scholarships for an additional 70 graduate students to pursue careers as geriatric advanced practice nurses. For more information, go to: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/NewsReleases/2005/AACNGeroScholarships05.htm. For a complete description of the individualized school objectives for this project, please visit the AACN website: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Education/pdf/GNEPScholarshipAwardObj.pdf.

Community Partnership Development
Through the Creating Careers program, eight schools of nursing developed partnerships with clinical agencies that are providing some level of matching funds for the scholarships. The types of financial support range from full matching funds to payment of advertising fees. Some community partners are paying staff regular salary/wages to attend class, while also flexing staff schedules and/or providing classroom space for off-campus education. For example:

Seattle Pacific University has established partnerships with five local community agencies. The University sought matching funds for scholarships from local organizations represented on the school's Advisory Board. The resulting visibility of the matching partners on the Board spurred other member agencies to provide financial support to students as well. To date, six scholarship students were supported by matching funds from community partners. The success of the program has encouraged the School of Nursing to reach out to additional leaders in long-term care.

Due to the recruitment efforts at the University of Minnesota, not only is the program filled to capacity, but the University also recruited community agencies to match the scholarship funds for all 18 Creating Careers scholarship recipients. The University joined with organizations that value collaborative geriatric practice models (nurse practitioner and physician teams), and approached facilities that had precepted, recruited, and hired their advanced practice gerontology nursing graduates in the past. Each community partner sponsors a student, usually in the form of a clinical traineeship. But by also matching scholarship funds, the partner can virtually "guarantee" that a GNP from the University of Minnesota program will work for their facility upon graduation.

2. Tools, Resources & Opportunities

2005 AACN/Hartford Institute Awards for Baccalaureate Education in Geriatric Nursing Applications Due May 6, 2005
Schools and programs of nursing that lead to a baccalaureate degree and offer a strong commitment in geriatric nursing are encouraged to apply. Reviewers will be looking for models of excellence, which may be showcased to inspire other schools to "gerontologize" their own programs. Programs may be large or small, new or well established. One entry per award category per school.

Award categories are:

Geriatric Faculty Member Award

Infusing Geriatrics into Nursing Curriculum Award

Stand-alone Geriatric Course Award

Clinical Settings in Geriatric Nursing Award

To view previous awardee abstracts, and to download an application, go to: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Education/Hartford/BaccAward.htm.

"Try This" Series
Beers' Criteria for Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in the Elderly
This issue of the Try This Assessment Series identifies medications with potential risks that outweigh potential benefits in the older adult. The Beers' Criteria may be downloaded at: http://www.hartfordign.org/publications/trythis/issue16.pdf. For a comprehensive listing of Try This Assessment Series and Try This Dementia Series issues, go to the Hartford Institute website at: http://www.hartfordign.org/resources/education/tryThis.html.

Geriatric Education Nursing Project: Showcasing Curriculum Grant Innovations
Each month, the AACN geriatric education Web page showcases a stand-alone course from a Hartford-awarded school's geriatric nursing program. The most recently featured course, from Fairfield University (Fairfield, CT), offers sophomore-level students a concentrated introduction to gerontology nursing. Its creators hope for Fairfield to become a model school in gerontology nursing for non-research intensive baccalaureate nursing programs. Nursing faculty and administrators are encouraged to visit the site, learn more about the work of Fairfield University and other grantees, and use the articles as a resource to help replicate, develop, and/or expand upon the awardees' fine work. To learn more about these efforts, visit: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Education/Hartford/ShowcasingInnovations/Fairfield.htm.

American Journal of Nursing Continues A New Look at the Old

Cognitively Impaired Older Adults
Mary D. Naylor, PhD, RN, FAAN, Caroline Stephens MSN, RN, APRN, BC, et al.

Research shows that cognitively impaired older adults hospitalized for acute illness or surgery are at risk for:

Prolonged hospital stays

Increased complication rates

Delayed rehabilitation

Increased mortality

Increased readmission, and

Poor outcomes

Despite the risks involved, cognitive impairment in older adults often goes undetected by health professionals and caregivers. Complicating the issue, and influencing the care and recovery of these individuals, is the capacity of their caregivers whose understanding of the situation may be incomplete and whose own needs during and after hospitalization are often not fully understood or addressed.

For a better understanding of how to identify older adults with cognitive impairment and ease their transition from the acute care setting, follow this link to the fourth article in the continuing American Journal of Nursing (AJN) series, A New Look at the Old: www.NursingCenter.com/AJNolderadults.

Nutrition in Older Adults: Intervention and Assessment Can Help Curb the Growing Threat of Malnutrition
Rose Ann DiMaria-Ghalili, PhD, RN, CNSN and Elaine Amella, PhD, APRN, BC

Most healthcare providers have heard of the MMSE (Mini Mental State Exam) but how many know of the MNA (Mini Nutritional Assessment), a three minute test that can assess a patient's nutritional status and risk for malnutrition (with a follow-up for more comprehensive assessment if indicated)?

It is estimated that 20 to 60 percent of older adults in home care, and 40 to 60 percent of hospitalized older adults, are malnourished or at risk for this problem. In long term care, the estimate is even higher: 40 to 85 percent. Where malnutrition exists, the risk for protracted recovery, complications, and increased cost of care are also present. Readers will find comprehensive information on the risk factors for poor nutrition, as well as steps to assess for the problem and a range of interventions to improve nutritional status. To read this and prior articles (see list below) on the care of older adults, please go to: www.NursingCenter.com/AJNolderadults.

The Challenge to Come: The Care of Older Adults
Nancy A. Stotts EdD, RN, FAAN and Carole E. Deitrich MS, GNP, RN

Presentation of Illness in Older Adults
Elaine J. Amella PhD, APRN, BC

Communicating for Better Care: Improving NurseÐPhysician Communication
Marina Burke MSN, RN, Jeremy Boal MD, et al.

3. Announcements

Nurses Notes for Healthy Aging
Senior Advisor for The John A Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing at NYU, DeAnne Zwicker, MS, APRN, BC, writes a bi-weekly column, "Nurse's Notes for Healthy Aging," for www.miahonline.org. "Nurses Notes on Healthy Aging" dispels some of the common "myths of aging" and replaces them with timely, factual, and practical information to help readers maintain a high quality of life as they age. Past topics include "Suicide in Older Adults: We Can All Help to Prevent It" and "Elder Abuse and Mistreatment." "Nurses Notes" are available at: http://www.miahonline.org/resources/nursesnotes/index.html.

Geriatrics within Regional Nursing Research Associations
Regional nursing research associations have opportunities for you to become involved in their geriatric initiatives including conference sessions, symposia, and awards. The John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing at NYU is pleased to support annual geriatric nursing research awards within each of these regional associations. We encourage you to apply or nominate for awards, submit symposia, and get involved. For more information, go to the Web site for your regional research association:

Eastern Nursing Research Society (ENRS)
http://www.enrs-go.org/

Midwest Nursing Research Society (MNRS)
http://www.mnrs.org

Southern Nursing Research Society (SNRS)
http://www.snrs.org

Western Institute of Nursing (WIN)
http://www.winursing.org

4. Links of the Month: GeroNurseOnline and NCOA's Center for Healthy Aging

GeroNurseOnline
GeroNurseOnline is a comprehensive Web site providing current best practice information on care of older adults. To create a personalized home page that will enable you to save geriatric nursing content and receive email updates when new content is posted, register today with www.GeroNurseOnline.org.

NCOA's Center for Healthy Aging Launches Online Resources
NCOA's Center for Healthy Aging (CHA) has launched a new Web site www.healthyagingprograms.org. The site is designed to provide aging-service providers who are interested in healthy aging with easy access to manuals, assessment tools, toolkits, model programs, and links to Web sites. There is information on health promotion, disease prevention, falls prevention, chronic disease self-management and much more. The CHA, under the leadership of director Nancy Whitelaw, PhD, serves as a National Resource Center for the Administration on Aging initiative, called the "Evidence-based Prevention Program for the Elderly." The Institute on Aging at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill partnered with CHA to develop and test this Web site.

Write to Us

We are committed to creating a monthly publication that serves your needs and interests. New Directions, therefore, welcomes your feedback and encourages you to supply ideas, stories, resources, news, and other content for subsequent issues. To make a contribution, please contact Patty Franklin at Pfranklin@aannet.org, Deirdre Thornlow at dthornlo@aacn.nche.edu, or Elaine Gould at elaine.gould@nyu.edu.

Please Note

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