July 6, 2009

Online Guided Care Nursing Course endorsed by NGNA

The National Gerontological Nursing Association, the nation’s first specialty organization dedicated to improving the quality of nursing care for older adults, has endorsed the Institute for Johns Hopkins Nursing’s new online Guided Care Nursing Course.

The unique six-week course, which launched in June, was developed in collaboration with the Roger C. Lipitz Center for Integrated Health Care at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with funding from the John A. Hartford Foundation. The course brings together faculty and clinical experts from the Johns Hopkins schools of Nursing, Medicine and Public Health, as well as The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System, to focus on geriatric care.

“The specialty of gerontological nursing is so rewarding, and this new opportunity to combine skills in caring for older adults with the advocacy role of the guided care nurse is very exciting,” said Elizabeth “Ibby” Tanner, an assistant professor at the School of Nursing who participated in developing the curriculum for the course.

The learning experience features asynchronous Web-based learning modules, live webinars and simulations, and focuses on best practices in chronic disease management, caregiver education and support, transitional care and geriatric evaluation.

The course is aimed at both nurses who would like to work in this new role in health care and those who wish to increase their knowledge about care of older adults and learn new skills such as coaching and motivational interviewing. The tuition fee includes access to the new online examination and American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Certificate in Guided Care upon course completion.

For more information, go to www.ijhn.jhmi.edu.