Revising the curriculum for a postgraduate program in gerontological nursing

Mats Christiansen, Anne-Marie Boström

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaper (not published)

Abstract

The postgraduate program in gerontological nursing was started in 1999. The program has been a one-year program offered half time via distance learning. The students have left the program with a Postgraduate Diploma in Specialist Nursing - Elderly Care. It was felt that a new curriculum was needed to better reflect the changes that have taken place in society with an aging population that lives longer, but also to make the program updated to reflect the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and Quality & Safety Education of Nurses (QSEN) competencies for graduate nurses: person-centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety, and informatics. The Swedish Society of Nursing has accepted similar competencies. A task force was charged with the task of creating a new program. A review showed that programs at other colleges and universities in the country had to a great extent changed their programs to a MS degree. The ways the programs were given varied from a distance-learning program only to programs with varying degrees of campus-based activities. A hearing was held with head nurses and representatives from surrounding hospitals and communities. The university adapted a new curriculum in March 2012 with the first students will be admitted for the spring 2013. The program offers the students both a professional exam in gerontological nursing as well as a MS degree. The new curriculum includes advanced courses in gerontological nursing at both an individual and a group level; a course in gerontological theories and research, an extended course in geriatric medicine, and a master thesis is incorporated into the program. Until today Sweden has no advanced practice nurses but the role is similar to the clinical nurse specialist in the US. The revised curriculum will help to create independent specialist nurses with skills in developing nursing care following the competencies.
Original languageAmerican English
Publication statusPublished - 5 Feb 2013
Externally publishedYes
MoE publication typeO2 Other
EventWaves of Change: Charting the Course for Gerontology and Geriatrics Education: 39th Annual Meeting and Educational Leadership Conference of the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education - Hilton, Saint Petersburg, FL, United States
Duration: 15 Feb 201317 Feb 2013

Conference

ConferenceWaves of Change: Charting the Course for Gerontology and Geriatrics Education
Abbreviated titleAGHE
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySaint Petersburg, FL
Period15/02/1317/02/13

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