1. Highlights from the Annual NICHE Conference
2. New Curriculum Publications Now Available
3. Tools, Resources, & Opportunites
4. Announcements
5. Link of the Month: The Kaiser Family Foundation

The John A. Hartford Foundation Insitute for Geriatric Nursing held its ninth annual, three-day Leadership Conference for the Nurses Improving Care for Health system Elders (NICHE) program, a national effort to deliver nurse-led and patient-centered care for older adults in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. This year’s conference, held in New York, was the most well-attended to date, convening interdisciplinary teams from 40 new hospitals. 

More than 500 nurse clinicians, educators, administrators, and gero-team members learned how to prepare their staff to implement NICHE principles, care models, and programs.  Renowned nursing experts and nurses from experienced NICHE sites presented on a range of topics including: activities to create and implement ACE (Acute Care for the Elderly) units, geriatric resource nurses, care of dementia patients, building elder-friendly hospitals, and best nursing practices. Started in 1992, NICHE has evolved into a national geriatric nursing program comprising 157 active sites across the country as well as parts of Canada and The Netherlands.

Highlights of the conference included a presentation by Nancy Watson, PhD, RN, Director, Center for Clinical Research on Aging, University of Rochester School of Nursing, who described the benefits of faculty, student, and hospital clinicians/administrators working in a collaborative relationship to improve care of hospitalized older adults.

To view Dr. Watson's prestation, visit: www.geriatricnursing.org/PowerPoint/12watson.ppt

For further information about NICHE programs, visit: http://www.hartfordign.org/programs/niche/index.html

2. New Curriculum Publications Now Available

In 2001, the John A. Hartford Foundation awarded The American Association of Colleges of Nursing a $3.99 million grant to implement the highly successful GNEP project, Enhancing Geriatric Nursing Education in Undergraduate and Advance Practice Nursing Programs. The program allowed 20 baccalaureate and 10 graduate nursing programs to enrich their gerontology curricula and expand their clinical experiences.  AACN ultimately expects these grant innovations to be replicated and improved upon many times over in schools of nursing nationwide. GNEP's goal is to create an educational model that prepares our nation’s nursing workforce to provide only the finest of care to its aging citizens.

The GNEP project recently produced two publications now available from AACN:
 
Monograph
Geronotology grant staff synthesized material gathered from the project site directors to produce Caring for an Aging America: A Guide for Nursing Faculty.  This monograph is intended to disseminate the findings of the geriatric curriculum development project to faculty in schools of nursing across the country.  Structured as a “How-to,” the monograph outlines tried and tested strategies employed by grant-funded schools regarding the following topics:  developing faculty expertise, "gerontologizing" curricula, enhancing curricula with technology, cultivating community partnerships, and promoting student interest in gerontology.

Special JPN Issue
The next issue of the official journal of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the Journal of Professional Nursing, will focus exclusively on gero-nursing. Curriculum grant site directors have authored articles sharing wisdom relative to the integration of gerontological content into curricula. The issue highlights a range of themes and strategies developed by these grant-funded schools, and offers recommendations for the successful creation of similar curriculm innovations in other sites.

For more information about these publications visit: www.aacn.nche.edu.        

Summer Institutes at University of North Carolina School of Nursing

Grant Writing Institute 
June 19-23, 2006
This intensive, week-long institute is designed to assist nursing faculty and post-doctoral fellows to write successful research grant applications for federal or other major funding. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) PHS-398 application format will be used.

Outcomes Measurement Institute
July 10-14, 2006
This five-day institute will address the knowledge and skills administrators and researchers need to create or select outcomes that document effectiveness of care using patient outcomes for accreditation, quality improvement purposes or developing research programs.  This Institute will utilize didactic presentations as well as consultative group work.

Instrument Development Institute
June 12-16, 2006
The faculty member teaching this institute has developed numerous instruments and has received funding from the National Institute for Nursing Research for the testing of several of these instruments. She will share her insights into instrument development and use and advance the participants' ability to appraise existing instruments as well as develop their own measures for their research or teaching.

Register online for any or all three of these programs at: www.nursing.ce.unc.edu or call the Continuing Education Department at 919-966-3638 for more information.

Career Opportunites at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing

Project Director - AACN is seeking a masters or doctorally prepared nurse to manage a four-year grant-funded gerontological nursing education initiative.  Previous experience in nursing education, curriculum development, and/or project management is preferred.  Clinical specialty in gerontology a plus. Salary to low 90’s with excellent benefits.  Send letter of interest, curriculum vitae, and one writing sample to Deputy Executive Director, AACN, One Dupont Circle, Suite 530, Washington, DC  20036.

Project Assistant - AACN is also looking for a Project Assistant to support an ongoing gerontology related grant. The position requires excellent writing and communication skills, attention to detail, enthusiasm for content, and the ability to generate creative ideas. Duties include coordination of several projects, database management, administrative support for the grant team, and the planning of the project's student leadership conference. Bachelors degree required. Salary low 30’s with excellent benefits.

Please send resume to: Debbie Latimer, Project Manager, American Association of Colleges of Nursing, One Dupont Circle, Suite 530, Washington, DC, 20036, or email: dlatimer@aacn.nche.edu.

“State of Nursing in 2006” PowerPoint Presentation Available

Pat Archbold, DNSc, RN, FAAN, and Patty Franklin of the Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity Program were invited to the John A. Hartford Foundation's March Board of Trustees meeting.  Dr. Archbold made a brief presentation framing the BAGNC within context of the current state of nursing and academic geriatric nursing.

To view this presentation, visit: www.geriatricnursing.org/PowerPoint/JAH_brd_0313.ppt

“Try This” Series: Therapeutic Activity Kits

Older adults with dementia have feelings that are often difficult to express due to cognitive impairments in language, memory, and executive function. The use of an activity kit provides an opportunity for cognitive stimulation, and focused and meaningful dialogue between caregiver and patients.

The Try This: Therapeutic Activity Kits (See: http://www.hartfordign.org/publications/trythis/theraAct.pdf) offer tools for enhancing the use of acitivity kits and resources for additional activity materials.

To see a comprehensive list of the Try This Assessment Series and Try This Dementia Series issues, go to: http://www.hartfordign.org/resources/education/tryThis.html.

BAGNC Promotes Four Regional Geriatric Nursing Networks

As the number of graduates from The Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity Program (BAGNC) – and from other HGNI programs—continues to grow, it has become increasingly important to create a resource for sustaining professional support and networking. In response to this need, this spring, the BAGNC has helped create four regional geriatric nursing networks. Using the Regional Nursing Research Annual Meetings as a logical venue to cultivate interest, the goals and the vision of these networks are to:

- Provide a regional support network for BAGNC Alumni;

- Promote the BAGNC predoctoral scholarship and postdoctoral fellowship program; and

- Strengthen academic geriatric nursing in these four regions.

The four regional nursing research meetings will provide a convenient forum in which to build a network of BAGNC alumni while expanding to reach others interested in geriatric nursing.

If you are interested in joining a newtork, please contact the following regional coordinators:

Eastern Nursing Research Society
E-mail Jennifer Lingler at: linglerjh@upmc.edu

Midwest Nursing Research Society
E-mail Lori Popejoy at: popejoyl@health.missouri.edu or Judy Jacobi at : judy.jacobi@und.nodak.edu

Western Institute of Nursing
Email Lissi Hansen at: hansenli@ohsu.edu or Diane Norcio at: diane_norcio@hotmail.com

Southern Nursing Research Society
Email Leanne Lefler at: l.lefler@uams.edu

Call for Applications

Applications for the 2006 Hartford Institute/AACN Awards for Baccalaureate Geriatric Nursing Education are now available.

To download an application, please visit the AACN website at: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Education/Hartford/pdf/BaccAwardApp06.pdf

Dr. Mathy Mezey Leads Plenary Session at AACN Spring Meeting

Mathy Mezey, EdD, RN, FAAN, Director of the John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing, gave a presentation entitled “The Role of the Dean in Preparing Nurses to Meet the Challenges of an Aging Population,” at the AACN Spring Meeting on March 12, 2006.  Dr. Mezey's session focused on the role deans play in "gerontologizing" the culture and curriculum of nursing schools.

Slides from Dr. Mezey’s presentation can be downloaded from the AACN website at: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Education/Hartford/index.htm

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit, private operating foundation focusing on the major health care issues facing the nation and an aging population. The Foundation's website (See: http://www.kff.org) offers a rich source of facts, data, and analysis for nurses, scholars, policymakers, the media, the broader health care community, and the general public. The Foundation develops and runs its own research and communications programs, often in partnership with outside organizations. The site also allows visitors to recieve customized email alerts on a variety of topics including: Medicare, Medicaid, prescription drugs, and minority health. These updates are delivered periodically and notify subsribers of new reports, surveys, issue briefs, charts, fact sheets and events.

To subscribe to the Kaiser Family Foundation e-mail alerts visit:.http://www.kff.org/profile/subscriptions.cfm.

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