Infusing geropsychiatric nursing content into curricula: challenges and solutions

Abstract

Nurses of the 21st century are unprepared to care for the increasing older adult population's mental health care needs. Nursing schools across the country struggle to identify and infuse geropsychiatric nursing content into curricula. In 2008, the John A. Hartford Foundation partnered with the American Academy of Nursing to fund a 4-year project, the Geropsychiatric Nursing Collaborative (GPNC). In 2011, four schools of nursing were selected to participate in the GPNC consultation project. This article describes two major challenges that schools currently face as they work to infuse geropsychiatric nursing content into nursing curricula and the solutions offered. Core geropsychiatric nursing competencies and content were identified to assist curriculum mapping, and examples of faculty resources for teaching about depression, dementia, and delirium were outlined. Incorporation of geropsychiatric nursing content is critical for preparing our future workforce to meet the increasing mental health care needs of older adults.