Campus wellness vacation: a creative clinical experience with the elderly.

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Nursing Education

Background:

• Healthy aging is a growing area of interest in geriatric care.
• Nursing students require innovative clinical experiences to understand aging processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a campus wellness vacation designed for healthy elderly individuals.
• To provide Registered Nurse (RN) students with a practical observation of healthy aging.
• To share insights on program development and adaptation over time.

Main Methods:

• Program establishment and implementation on a campus setting.
• Integration of the experience with specific course requirements for RN students.
• Longitudinal observation and adaptation of the program's structure and content.

Main Results:

• The wellness vacation offered a unique educational model for observing healthy aging.
• The program facilitated student understanding of geriatric wellness and care.
• The experience evolved over successive years, incorporating faculty suggestions.

Conclusions:

• Campus wellness vacations can serve as an effective pedagogical tool in nursing education.
• Such programs provide valuable insights into the multifaceted aspects of healthy aging.
• Recommendations are provided for faculty interested in implementing similar initiatives.