Developing geriatric nursing micro-credentials for undergraduate nursing students based on training objectives: A modified Delphi study

BACKGROUND

China's population has begun to age rapidly in the past several years and this trend is predicted to continue. In the face of this growing older population, the existing number of aged care personnel, especially medical care professionals, can hardly meet the demand for aged care services.

AIM

To develop geriatric nursing micro-credentials (MCs) for undergraduate nursing students based on standardized training objectives and to specify the learning goals and course modules that correspond to each specific MC.

DESIGN

Modified Delphi study.

METHODS

An initial set of geriatric nursing MCs were developed based on the training objectives. Expert group discussion (n=13) reviewed the clarity and intelligibility of the statements' wording and supplemented the framework. A three-round Delphi survey (n=15) was then employed to obtain a consensus on the learning goals and course modules via an online questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data.

RESULTS

The final geriatric nursing MCs consisted of six courses, namely fundamentals of geriatric nursing (8 modules), geriatric sociology (6 modules), geriatric clinical nursing (3 modules), geriatric psychological nursing (8 modules), geriatric rehabilitation nursing (8 modules) and geriatric hospice care (10 modules).

CONCLUSION

Nursing faculty can use the geriatric nursing MCs developed in this study to train current undergraduate nursing students to become backups for current, fully credentialed geriatric caregivers.

The role of the geriatric nurse specialist as a key response in the care of the elderly, chronicity, complex chronicity and its consequences on dependence

Aging together with multimorbidity, polymedication and various social factors are some of the determinants that lead to increasing complexity of care in the elderly, thus making it difficult for health systems to meet their needs. To approach this new and growing scenario of care for the elderly, the formal health and social care systems must define specific jobs for geriatric nursing specialists trained to address the needs of older people from a perspective of comprehensive care, both for healthy aging, and for the different health problems of this population group, characterized by the consequences of aging and chronicity, towards dependence, and develop the powers established by law in the framework of an interdisciplinary team, for those who have been trained and accredited, thus adding value to the response that health systems have to provide for this growing problem of the 'aging-chronicity-dependence' triad.

Identifying and prioritizing topics for evidence-based geriatric nursing practice guidelines in Korea

BACKGROUND

Despite the increasing population of elderly individuals in Korea, there are no evidence-based geriatric nursing practice guidelines.

AIM

This study aimed to identify and prioritize topics related to the development of evidence-based geriatric nursing practice guidelines in long-term care facilities in Korea.

METHODS

To identify potential topics, 89 nurses responded to a questionnaire on activities that require further evidence and/or standardization in the long-term care facility setting. To prioritize these topics, 14 geriatric nursing experts completed surveys to prioritize five categories.

RESULTS

The collected data included 240 clinical topics, which were classified into 41 subcategories and 18 main categories. According to topic prioritization by the geriatric nursing experts, the following were the most heavily weighted categories: fall prevention, position change and prevention of pressure ulcers.

CONCLUSIONS

The development of standardized guidelines based on these results may help improve the quality of geriatric care and quality of life of older individuals. The small number of respondents may be a limitation of this study, and further study is needed to expand the population.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND HEALTH POLICY

The development of evidence-based nursing guidelines based on the present findings will help improve the quality of nursing in long-term care facilities. Additionally, health policies and systems, such as introduction of a fee for nursing services for older individuals based on the evidence, are worth considering.