The UNMC College of Nursing received the second-place Award for Exceptional
Baccalaureate Curriculum in Gerontologic Nursing from the John A. Hartford
Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing at New York University (Hartford
Institute) in collaboration with the American Association of Colleges of
Nursing (AACN).
The award narrative cited UNMCs nursing curriculum as an innovative
example of how to implement gerontologic content in a variety of health
settings. Gerontological nursing is the study of and care of the health
care needs of older adults.
We are honored to receive this prestigious recognition from the Hartford
Foundation, which is doing so much to advance gerontological nursing in
the nation, said Susan Noble Walker, Ed.D., professor and chair of the
UNMC College of Nursing Department of Gerontological, Psychosocial and
Community Health Nursing. The faculty are to be commended for their efforts.
A required course for a bachelors degree in nursing, Gerontological
Nursing, includes clinical experience that provides opportunities for
students to learn how to care for older adults in the community, rehabilitation
units, assisted living units and nursing homes.
One opportunity for clinical experiences is the colleges Senior Nursing
Clinic, located in Lincoln, which provides nursing students opportunities
to use their health skills and develop rapport with older adults. The clinic
was formed in 1999 by faculty specializing in gerontological, psychiatric,
and community health nursing.
In addition, gerontological nursing content is integrated extensively
throughout other nursing courses.
We have a strong commitment to respond to the health care needs of
older adults in Nebraska, said Barbara Wharton-McCabe, Ph.D., associate
professor in the UNMC College of Nursing Lincoln Division. Former graduates
tell me our curriculum has better prepared them for caring for older adults.
As older adults comprise a rapidly expanding segment of the U.S. population,
geriatric care skills increasingly will become part of every nurse’s repertoire,”
says AACN President Carolyn Williams, PhD, RN, FAAN. “These awards
honor models of excellence that encourage the highest standards of gerontological
nursing education, and AACN is extremely pleased to continue this collaborative
effort with the Hartford Institute in coordinating and developing guidelines
for this important initiative.
First-place winner was the Pennsylvania State University School of Nursing
and honorable mentions went to Sacred Heart University Nursing Programs
and Physical Therapy Program in Fairfield, Conn. and to the Department
of Nursing at Winston-Salem State University School of Health Sciences
in North Carolina.