Baccalaureate Education in Geriatric Nursing and Long Term Care:
A Nationwide Survey
Pei-Lun Hsieh* 1, Ching-Min Chen 2, Chun-Tzu Cheng 2
1Institute of Allied Health Sciences, 2Department of Nursing, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan
To survey current situation Geriatric Nursing (GN) and/or Long Term Care (LTC) courses offered in
baccalaureate nursing programs in Taiwan.
To
describedwhich specific GN or LTC content
and competencies are included in baccalaureate
nursing education programs in Taiwan.
Longer average life expectancies and an ageing society have made long-term care a worldwide
urgent and important issue. In Taiwan, the elderly population reached 13% in 2016 and it has been projected to reach 20% in 2026.
To meet this trend, preparation of sufficient and highly qualified nurses have become the most
important task to reach this goal.
Placement and Type of Geriatric Nursing and Long Term Care courses (shown in Table 2).
Background
Purpose
Method
Data were obtained from the official websites and nationwide questionnaire survey for the review of the contents of current baccalaureate programs in GN and/or LTC course offered in baccalaureate
nursing programs in Taiwan.
A descriptive research design was used and detailed checklist review was applied.
The survey findings indicated that GN and LTC education must be recognized by providing required stand-alone courses and
interdisciplinary education in nursing curricula. These courses should be included in curricular design and innovations so as to ensure nursing
students to acquire strong competence for the future through education.
Conclusion Table1 Current curriculum (n=25) Geriatric Nursing n (%)
Long Term Care n (%) Both Courses n (%) General university (n=14) 10 (71.43) 8 (57.14) 8 (57.14) University of science and technology (n=11) 9 (81.82) 10 (90.91) 8 (72.72) Table 2 Placement of GLTC course General university n (%) University of science and technology n (%) Total n (%) Geriatric Nursing (n=21) (n=11) (n=9) (n=20) First year 0 0 0 Sophomore year 4(30.77) 3 (33) 7 (35.00) Junior year 4 (30.77) 6 (67) 10 (50.00) Senior year 3 (28.08) 0 3 (15.00)
Long Term Care (n=8) (n=10) (n=18)
First year 0 0 0 Sophomore year 3 (37.50) 1 (7) 4 (22.22) Junior year 1 (12.50) 8 (70) 9 (50.00) Senior year 4 (50.00) 2 (20) 6 (33.33) Type of course Geriatric Nursing (n=11) (n=9) (n=20) Required 1 (8.33) 1 (11.11) 2 (10.00) Elective 10 (91.67) 8 (88.89) 18 (90.00)
Long Term Care (n=8) (n=10) (n=18)
Required 0 0 0 (0)
Elective 8 (100.00) 10 (100.00) 18 (100.00)
Results
Baccalaureate Nursing Programs offered with Curriculum in Geriatric Nursing and Long Term Care (shown in Table 1).
Content of Geriatric Nursing (GN) and Long Term Care (LTC) courses (shown in Figure).
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Aging Process Communication Ethical Elderly Activity Universal Design Comprehensive Geriatric… Traditional Medicine
Attitude Toward Elderly Pharmacy / Medication and Aging Health Promotion Resources Utilization Dementia Care Nutrition Alternative Therapies Essential Concepts of LTC LTC Issues and Policy Respite Care Home Care Management of LTC Facilities Quality of Care in LTC Health Informatics LTC (n=6) GN (n=6)
