HGNI New Directions

Welcome to New Directions, a publication of the Hartford Geriatric Nursing Initiative (HGNI). This e-newsletter is designed to inform interested academic and practice leaders, faculty members, students, practitioners and others about the work of the HGNI and provide the latest news and information relevant to geriatric nursing.

As many of you know, the HGNI is preparing professional nurses to play leadership roles in improving the health of older adults. In partnership with the nation's nursing schools and a variety of health care organizations and systems, this dynamic, national initiative, supported through a $38 million investment from The John A. Hartford Foundation, works in five areas, including:

Shaping nursing practice to best meet the health care needs of older adults;

Enhancing professional education to ensure all nurses are prepared to treat older patients;

Promoting research needed to guide the care and promote the health of older people;

Developing leadership in academic and professional settings; and

Demonstrating nursing's commitment to enacting public policy that improves older Americans' health care.

We are proud to represent this critically needed effort, which is involving the nation's top nurses-including you-in making a difference in the health care of our nation's older adults. If you would like more contact information about, and links to all of the programs of the HGNI, please visit the HGNI's Web site at www.HGNI.org.

In this Issue

1. In Honor of JAHF's 75^th Anniversary: A Look Back at Nursing 75 Years Ago
2. Mark Your Calendar-Exciting Events in 2005!
3. Announcements
4. Tools, Resources & Opportunities
5. HGNI People
6. Links of the Month: Web Sites from AHRQ and AARP

1. Honoring JAHF's 75^th Anniversary: A Look Back at Nursing 75 Years Ago

In honor of The John A. Hartford Foundation's 75^th Anniversary, the HGNI thought it would be interesting to take a look at the state of nursing 75 years ago. Below are just a few remarkable aspects of the profession.

What to Wear
From 1920 to 1939, nursing dresses became more practical, moving to mid-calf length (formerly ankle length). Caps became less elaborate with the ties disappearing. Cap styles and buckle types began to indicate positions within the nursing hierarchy. In the 1920s, nurses wore white canvas shoes, but only after the development of white leather shoe polish in the 1930s did white leather shoes became a nursing essential.

Crossing Racial Barriers
In 1934, Mabel Keaton Staupers accepted a position as the first paid executive secretary of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses. Over the course of her twelve-year career, she built coalitions with other nursing and non-nursing groups and was instrumental in removing racial barriers that previously kept black nurses out of the military.

Men in Nursing
American Nurses Association began to allow male members in 1930. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, numbers of male nurses in the U.S. increased slightly, in part because nursing education included room, board, and a small stipend.

Doctoral Preparation
In 1932, the first student completed a Doctoral of Education (EdD) with a major in Nursing Education from Columbia University's Teachers College. In 1934, New York University initiated the first PhD program in nursing. No new doctoral programs began between 1934 and 1953.

Medication
Although penicillin was discovered in 1928, it would not be available to the public until 1943. Just four years later, the first penicillin-resistant bacteria appeared.

Beginnings of an Icon
In 1934, Virginia Henderson joined the nursing faculty at Teachers College, where she earned both baccalaureate and masters degrees and revised the Textbook of the Principles and Practice of Nursing, which would become a mainstay of nursing education.

The Registered Nurse
The 1936 amendment to the Nursing Practice Act mandated that those holding the RN designation hold a high school diploma, be at least twenty-one (21) years old with "good moral character," and provide evidence of graduation from an approved school. The role of an RN included sterilizing and sharpening needles.

2. Mark Your Calendar: Exciting Events in 2005!

Here are just a few of the exciting opportunities in 2005. For additional events, click here.

January 31 - February 3, 2005
NICHE Leadership Conference
New York, NY
http://www.hartfordign.org/programs/niche/conference.html

February 17- 19, 2005
AACN Masters Education Conference
San Diego, CA
Hartford Institute Geriatric Pre-Conference: February 17th (see below for details)

March 2005
Announcement of new BAGNC Scholars
For a list of past and current Scholars, click here.

July 7- 8, 2005
Clinical Research: Trials and Interventions
Pre-Conference Workshop for Nurses (see below for details)
Aspen Wye River Conference Center
Queenstown, Maryland

July 11- 15, 2005
Hartford Institute/AJN Geriatric Nursing Research Scholars Program
New York, NY
http://www.hartfordign.org/research/scholarsFellows/flyer2005.pdf

November 2005
HGNI Leadership Conference
Details will be announced in April.

3. Announcements

First Nurse Takes Over as President of the Gerontological Society of America
Terry T. Fulmer, PhD, RN, FAAN, recently took the reins as president of the Gerontological Society of America. The first nurse to hold this position, Dr. Fulmer is the Erline Perkins McGriff Professor and Head of the Division of Nursing at NYU, the Co-Director for The John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing, and Director of the Consortium of New York Geriatric Education Centers. She is also the Principal Investigator for the Geriatric Interdisciplinary Team Training Project (GITT), which is funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation. Dr. Fulmer received her bachelor's degree from Skidmore College, her master's and doctoral degrees from Boston College, and her Geriatric Nurse Practitioner Post-Master's Certificate from NYU. Dr. Fulmer's research focuses on acute care of the elderly and specifically, elder abuse and neglect.

4. Tools, Resources and Opportunities

Pre-Conference: Geriatrics and the Advanced Practice Curriculum
AACN 2005 Master's Education Conference
Loews Coronado Bay Resort, Coronado, CA
Thursday, February 17, 2005
1:00 - 3:00 PM

Limited to 100 participants. Pre-registration required.

The John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing, in collaboration with AACN, is pleased to offer a special opportunity for advanced practice nursing (APN) faculty. This pre-conference highlights creative strategies and available resources for integrating geriatrics into the APN curriculum. With the aging population as the core business of health care, it is essential to equip all advanced practice nurses with the expertise needed to care for older adults.

Presenters will share innovative strategies for developing geriatric expertise in the future cadre of APNs. This session is geared toward faculty teaching in all adult NP/CNS specialty master's programs including acute care, family, nursing administration, and nursing education. Take advantage of this exciting opportunity! To learn more go to: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Conferences/05mastersconference.htm.

Clinical Research: Trials and Interventions
Pre-Conference Workshop for Nurses
July 7- 8, 2005
Aspen Wye River Conference Center
Queenstown, Maryland

This pre-conference workshop, sponsored by The John A. Hartford Foundation, American Academy of Nursing, and the National Institute on Aging, is a collaborative effort to enhance new nurse researchers' capacity to design and conduct clinical research in aging with human participants. Nurse applicants must meet the specified eligibility criteria for the Summer Institute on Aging Research. If selected, your presence and participation are required for the pre-conference and Summer Institute (9 days). The pre-conference workshop will address problems of the RCT, daring designs, assessment of relative risk, duty to exclude, randomization, therapeutic misconception, and a mock IRB review.

Nurses registering for the pre-conference workshop must use the Summer Institute on Aging Research official application form. Check the box at the top of the application to be considered. Applications are due March 4, 2005 and are available on the web at www.geriatricnursing.org or by contacting Patty Franklin at pfranklin@aannet.org.

A “Brand” New Year!
Like the look of the HGNI logo and this newsletter? You can use the graphic identity developed for the HGNI on your print materials, Web sites, posters, and PowerPoint presentations. Click here to see the design guidelines for using the brand, as well as several versions of the logo and a variety of helpful templates.

In the “brand” New Year, why not try the PowerPoint slide template and adapt it for your next presentation? Using these graphics can freshen up your slides, and importantly, it links you to the large and growing number of leaders who are part of the HGNI's important work on behalf of older adults.

Geriatric Education Nursing Project: Showcasing Curriculum Grant Innovations
Each month, the AACN geriatric education Web page showcases a stand-alone course from a Hartford-award school's geriatric nursing program. The most recently showcased course, from Metropolitan State (St. Paul, MN) captured student attention by hosting most of its classes at the board and care facility where the instructor is employed. Next month's showcased course, from Tuskegee University (Tuskegee, AL), is taught by a clinical psychologist who specializes in ethno-geriatrics.

Nursing faculty and administrators are encouraged to visit the site, learn more about the work of the grantees, and use the articles as a resource to help replicate, develop, and/or expand upon the awardees' fine work. To learn more about these efforts, visit: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Education/Hartford/ShowcasingInnovations.htm.

Geriatric Resources for Practice: New Topic Areas Posted GeroNurseOnline.org, which provides access to geriatric nursing resources, has added content in the following topic areas: Atypical Presentation, Depression, Family Caregiving, Hydration Management, Iatrogenesis, Sensory Changes, and Sleep. To learn more, please visit: www.GeroNurseOnline.org.

Clinical Outcomes Research Center at the University of Minnesota The Clinical Outcomes Research Center (CORC) is a joint venture of the Medical School and the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota. Administratively housed in the Medical School, it offers an opportunity for clinical research faculty to develop projects that address care outcomes. The CORC is intended to generate sound information that relates the variations in the way health care is delivered to the outcomes of that care. This information can become the basis for a model outcomes information system that will position the new entity as a modern health care activity. At the same time, it can also serve as a platform to improve the quality of care and teach students at various levels clinical research techniques and how to assess the quality of evidence that supports medical decisions. Every two years the CORC offers a course titled "Conducting Health Outcomes Research." For a brochure and application, go to the CORC Web site at www.hsr.umn.edu/corc or contact Patty Franklin at Pfranklin@aannet.org.

“Try This” Series
Preventing Aspiration in Older Adults with Dysphagia
This latest issue in the Try This Assessment Series offers an assessment tool for the recognition of dysphasia and prevention of aspiration related to tube feeding and oral care.To view Preventing Aspiration in Older Adults with Dysphagia, go to: http://www.hartfordign.org/publications/trythis/issue_20.pdf. For a comprehensive listing of Try This Assessment Series and Try This Dementia Series issues, go to: http://www.hartfordign.org/resources/education/tryThis.html.

5. HGNI People

From time to time, New Directions highlights Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity pre- and post-doctoral Scholars who have completed their award program and joined the growing leadership in the field of geriatric nursing. For a list of all the Scholars selected for this program, please visit the program's Web site. Here, we feature a member of the 2001-2003 class of Scholars.

In October 2003, Lissi Hansen, PhD, RN, was hired as an assistant professor by the Oregon Health & Science University's (OHSU) School of Nursing (SON), Portland, OR. According to Hansen, she has come full circle and loves it. She returned to school 13 years ago with a goal and is now poised to fulfill her ambition to improve end-of life-care for adults and older adults in intensive care units (ICUs), and their families. She is teaching end-of-life content to nursing students and registered nurses in the clinical setting and writing proposals to conduct research in ICUs. In addition to her teaching and research responsibilities, Hansen has taken a lead faculty position in the undergraduate program, is working with undergraduate and graduate students, and is a member of OHSU's Center for Geriatric Nursing Excellence at the SON. During the past year, she was able to complete the End of Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) training sponsored by City of Hope and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and attend and present at the Gerontological Society of America's conference in Washington, DC. When she is not working on a proposal or a manuscript, Dr. Hansen is often hiking with her three Dobermans.

Joyce Chan completed her BAGNC pre-doctoral scholar program in 2003 as one of the first BAGNC pre-doctoral Scholars. Currently, Ms. Chan is continuing her doctoral studies at the University of California, San Francisco. The focus of her dissertation research is on Chinese elders and their experience in long-term care facilities. Ms. Chan continues to work closely with Dr. Jeanie Kayser-Jones, her mentor during the pre-doctoral program. Using data from Dr. Kayser-Jones' study on end-of-life care in long-tem care facilities, two papers will be published this year, one in the February issue of Geriatric Nursing and the other in the July issue of the Journal of Gerontological Nursing. In addition, Ms. Chan is working with Dr. Kayser-Jones as her teaching assistant for two of her doctoral seminars in gerontology.

6. Links of the Month: Web Sites from AHRQ and AARP

AHRQ Redesigned Nursing Web Page
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has redesigned its nursing Web page to make it easier for users to access information. Historically, the agency has provided substantial funding to nurse researchers for grants, cooperative agreements, and dissertation support in a variety of areas. As AHRQ continues to respond to the research needs of the agency's key audiences - clinical decision makers, health system leaders, and federal, state, and local policymakers - it will be counting on nurses to play an active role in helping to address those research needs. To view the new nursing Web page, visit: www.ahrq.gov/about/nursing.

AARP: "Aging Advances: Global Innovations to Enhance the Lives of Older People"
AARP's Global Aging Program has launched this new Web site, which features global 'best practice' products, programs and services that enhance the lives of the 50+ population worldwide. The site, http://www.aarp.org/international/agingadvances/ highlights unique community programs, government initiatives, health and long-term care innovations, and universal design.

Write to Us

We are committed to creating a monthly publication that serves your needs and interests. New Directions, therefore, welcomes your feedback and encourages you to supply ideas, stories, resources, news, and other content for subsequent issues. To make a contribution, please contact Patty Franklin at Pfranklin@aannet.org, Deirdre Thornlow at dthornlo@aacn.nche.edu, or Elaine Gould at elaine.gould@nyu.edu.

Please Note

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