The Current State of U.S. Geropsychiatric Graduate Nursing Education

Abstract

Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) must be prepared to care for the rapidly increasing numbers of older adults with mental health needs. All 363 graduate nursing programs in the United States were surveyed regarding the nature and extent of geropsychiatric nursing (GPN) content across program curricula and their perceptions of the influence that the APRN Consensus Model has exerted on preparing the next generation of APRNs to meet the growing needs of the older adult population. Of the 202 schools responding, 138 reported GPN content in one or more clinical programs, with the majority of content in non-PMHNP programs. Only 17 schools reported offering a GPN program, track, or minor. The majority of schools (n = 169) perceived that they were adequately well-prepared to meet the APRN Consensus Model's guidelines regarding inclusion of aging-related didactic and clinical educational experiences in all APRN education programs; nearly two thirds (n = 132) perceived a moderate to significant influence of the Consensus Model on institutional infusion of GPN into curricula. Compared with a similar survey 10 years ago, there was little change in the proportion of schools reporting GPN in clinical programs and few schools provide GPN programs, tracks, or minors. Implications for nursing education and practice are discussed.

Embracing the challenges in graduate geropsychiatric nursing education: Findings from a national survey

“…In 2030, the population of older persons is expected to nearly double (Ortman, Velkoff, & Hogan, 2014) and result in a simultaneous 80% increase in the number of older persons with mental health and substance use disorders (Institute of Medicine, 2012). Filling the gaps in geriatric mental health with education and collaborative practice opportunities are among the looming challenges that currently face colleges of nursing (Stephens, Harris, & Buron, 2015).…”

“…Over the past ten years, there have been significant demographic, academic, and practice changes. These changes warranted a national survey that was conducted in 2014 on graduate nursing programs (Stephens et al, 2015) to evaluate the state of geropsychiatric nursing (GPN). The purpose of this paper is to investigate and report additional findings and perspectives from these survey results to answer three research questions.…”

“…A survey in 2014 (Stephens et al, 2015) compared with the similar survey 10 years earlier (Kurlowicz et al, 2007) found that despite substantial efforts to improve GPN education, fewer than 70% of nursing schools offer GPN content. Moreover, only 40% of APRN primary care programs include GPN content in their curricula, and fewer than 9% of nursing schools provide specific GPN programs, tracks or minors (Stephens et al, 2015). The 2014 survey, and results from the two previous national surveys have captured 28 years of trends in GPN (Hoeffer, 1994; Kurlowicz et al, 2007; Stephens et al, 2015).…”

“…Moreover, only 40% of APRN primary care programs include GPN content in their curricula, and fewer than 9% of nursing schools provide specific GPN programs, tracks or minors (Stephens et al, 2015). The 2014 survey, and results from the two previous national surveys have captured 28 years of trends in GPN (Hoeffer, 1994; Kurlowicz et al, 2007; Stephens et al, 2015).…”

“…All data in this study are from the 2014 national survey with additional information to improve geriatric mental healthcare (Stephens et al, 2015). The analysis in this study is a response to the survey questions in Table 1.…”