Essential competencies and learning strategies for the education of nurses regarding care for older adults

Background: Due to the demographic changes, the Dutch health care system faces huge challenges with regard to the demand on care for older persons and the competencies of nurses / aides required to meet this demand. A recent study in the Netherlands showed that the nursing (aides) curricula are not adequate to prepare nursing (aides) students for the aging population. On top of this the focus of care for older persons is changing; from treatment of illnesses towards preservation of independency, self-management and participation in society. Older persons should have a more active role in the caring process and in decisions concerning their health and illnesses. The attitude of older persons is also changing; older people want to have a more active and assertive role in health care. This paradigm shift implies changes for the health care professionals and for the way we educate nurses / nursing aides. Objective: To determine the essential competencies and recommendations for educational strategies for the education of nurses and nursing aids regarding care for the older population in different settings in health care. Materials and Methods: A draft version of competencies was developed based on literature, reviewed by experts of the nursing / nursing aides schools and older persons. The second version was discussed in a meeting with geriatric teaching experts and representatives of the Dutch Nursing Association and the Dutch Association for Residential and Homecare Organizations. The final version was approved by a steering committee with representatives of health care institutes and older persons. Results: A set of essential competencies for the initial education of nurses/ nursing aides was determined according to the seven roles of the CanMEDS. Learning outcomes and learning content were described for every role. Also seven recommendations for educational strategies were described. Conclusion: The set of determined competencies and the description of the learning outcomes and learning content are better in line with the changing values in care for the older population. The described content is changing towards themes like maintenance of functional independency, self-management, support autonomy and informal care, anti-ageism, healthy aging, multi-disciplinary collaboration and risk assessment. The challenge is to implement these competencies into the educational programs of the Dutch nursing schools.