OF GERONTOLOGICAL NURSING The history and development of gerontological nursing is rich in diversity and experiences, as is the population it serves. There has never been a more opportune time than now to be a gerontological nurse. No matter where nurses practice, they will at some time in their career care for older adults. The health care movement is constantly increasing life expectancy; therefore, nurses must expect to care 55805_CH01_0001_0025.qxd 2/19/09 1:01 PM Page 4 The History of Gerontological Nursing 5 for relatively larger numbers of older people over the next decades. With the increasing numbers of acute and chronic health conditions experienced by elders, nurses are in key positions to provide disease prevention and health promotion, and to promote positive aging. The American Journal of Nursing, the American Nurses Association (ANA), and the John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing at New York University contributed significantly to the development of the specialty of gerontological nursing. The specialty was formally recognized in the early 1960s when the ANA recommended a specialty group for geriatric nurses and the formation of a geriatric nursing division, and convened the first national nursing meeting on geriatric nursing practice. The growth of the specialty soared over the next three decades. In the early 1970s, the ANA Standards for Geriatric Practice and the Journal of Gerontological Nursing were first published (in 1970 and 1975, respectively). Following the enactment of federal programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, rapid growth in the health care industry for elders occurred. In the 1970s, the Veterans Administration funded a number of Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Centers (GRECCs) at VA medical centers across the United States. Nurses were provided substantial educational opportunities to learn about the care of older veterans through the development of GRECCs. The Kellogg Foundation also funded numerous certificate nurse practitioner programs at colleges of nursing for nurses to become geriatric nurse practitioners. These were not master’s in nursing–level programs, but provided needed nurses who were trained in geriatrics to meet the growing needs of an aging population. Terminology used to describe nurses caring for elders has included geriatric nurses, gerontic nurses, and gerontological nurses. These terms all have various meanings; however, gerontological nursing provides an encompassing view of the care of older adults. In 1976, the ANA Geriatric Nursing Division changed its name to Gerontological Nursing Division and published the Standards of Gerontological Nursing (Ebersole & Touhy, 2006; Meiner & Lueckenotte, 2006). The decade of the 1980s saw a substantial growth in gerontological nursing when the National Gerontological Nursing Association was established, along with the ANA statement on the Scope and Standards of Gerontological Nursing Practice. Increased numbers of nurses began to obtain master’s and doctoral preparation in gerontology, and higher education established programs to prepare nurses as advanced practice nurses in the field (geriatric nurse practitioners and gerontological clinical nurse specialists). Thus, interest in theory to build nursing as a science grew and nurses were beginning to consider gerontological nursing research as an area of study. Implementation of five Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Foundation TeachingNursing Homes provided the opportunity for nursing faculty and nursing homes to collaborate to enhance care to institutionalized elders. An additional eight community-based RWJ grant–funded demonstration projects enabled older adults to remain in their homes and fostered cooperation between social service and health care agencies to partner in providing in-home care. In the 1990s, the John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing was established at the NYU Division of Nursing. It provided unprecedented momentum to improve nursing education and practice and increase nursing research in the care of older adults. In addition, it focused on geriatric public policy and consumer education. The