The University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing has been awarded a three-year grant for $462,945 with the goal to increase the number of nurse practitioners with geriatric expertise in rural and medically underserved communities in Nebraska.
In rural Nebraska, 16 percent of older adults live in rural communities, but there are no geriatricians practicing in rural Nebraska and fewer than 10 nurse practitioners are certified and licensed as geriatric nurse practitioners. A recent report by the U.S. Institute of Medicine determined that too few health professionals are entering the field of geriatrics to keep pace with the unique and complex needs of older adults.
The grant – from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration – creates an accelerated post-masters degree geriatric nurse practitioner certificate program that can be completed in three months.
Over the next three years, the college hopes to enroll 25 nurse practitioners in the 12-week program. The college is targeting family, adult and acute care nurse practitioners currently working and living in rural and urban underserved areas.
The first class will start in May 2010 and graduate in August. The program will enable students to complete three courses and a 90-hour clinical requirement through Internet-based learning and videoconferencing systems.
“Nebraska’s rural and medically underserved older adults experience numerous health disparities including reduced access to health care providers and greater prevalence of chronic disease,” said Claudia Chaperon, Ph.D., assistant professor at the UNMC College of Nursing and project director. “We need more nurse practitioners to help people remain functional and autonomous so they have a good quality of life and age successfully."
The Nebraska Geriatric Education Center, a consortium that includes UNMC, the Nebraska Health Care Association and the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System, is a partner in the grant.
A student enrolled in UNMC’s traditional geriatric nurse practitioner program, Carol Anderson, of Neligh, said the accelerated program should greatly enhance geriatric services in rural Nebraska Critical Access Hospitals.
“There is great potential for other programs to be developed such as mental health, diabetes management, congestive heart failure management and lipid management,” she said. “With the health care changes in the works now, I think the potential is awesome.”
Applications will be accepted through Feb. 1. For more information, contact Dani Eveloff at develoff@unmc.edu, (402) 559-5184.
As the state’s only academic health science center, UNMC is on the leading edge of health care. Breakthroughs are possible because hard-working researchers, educators and clinicians are resolved to work together to fuel discovery. In 2009, UNMC’s extramural research support topped $100 million for the first time, resulting in the creation of 3,600 jobs in Nebraska. UNMC’s academic excellence is shown through its award-winning programs, and its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through its commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, have established themselves as one of the country’s leading health care centers. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes 550 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties who practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.