Gerontological nursing content in baccalaureate nursing programs: findings from a national survey

Given the prevalence of elderly people in the health care system, it behooves the nursing community to assure that every nurse graduating from a baccalaureate nursing program has a defined level of competency in care of the elderly. To accomplish this, it is necessary to establish a baseline of the current status of geriatric content in the baccalaureate curriculum. This article provides such baseline data using the findings of a national study of geriatrics in baccalaureate nursing programs. The study, conducted in 1997, was distributed to the universe of baccalaureate nursing programs (n = 598). The findings are based on a respondent pool of 480 programs (80.3 per cent response rate). The survey covered a range of educational topics, including curriculum, content, faculty preparation, and how programs define their needs for further curriculum and faculty development. The data analysis included the identification of baccalaureate nursing programs with exemplary offerings in geriatric care. Finally, in the discussion section, recommendations are advanced for the full integration of geriatric content into baccalaureate nursing programs.