next section, provide specific guidelines for gerontological nursing care. A full description and copy of the scope and standards is available at www.nursingworld.org or www.ngna.org. CORE COMPETENCIES Specific core competencies have been identified for gerontological nursing in addition to general professional nursing preparation. These competencies are influenced by the level at which the nurse will function and the role expectations of the nurse. Core competencies provide a foundation of added knowledge and skills necessary for the nurse to implement in daily practice. For example, the gerontological nurse in advanced practice has expanded expertise and skills to fulfill specialized roles. Common bodies of assumptions, knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are essential for excellent clinical nursing practice with older adults have been developed and provide the basic foundation for all levels of gerontological nursing practice. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and the John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing gathered input from qualified gerontological nursing experts to publish Older Adults: Recommended Baccalaureate Competencies and Curricular Guidelines for Geriatric Nursing Care (2000). This document also provided the framework for this text. The core competencies set forth for gerontological nursing appear in Table 1-2. The purpose of this document specific to gerontological nursing was to use the AACN’s Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice (1998) as a framework to help nurse educators integrate specific nursing content into their programs. The original AACN document suggested core competencies, knowledge, and role development for professional nurses. These appear in Table 1-3. The geriatric competencies in Table 1-2 correlate with and were derived from the suggestions in the more general AACN document in Table 1-3. By using these published documents as guides, nursing professors and others who educate in the area of gerontological nursing should be able to prepare students to be competent to provide excellent care to older adults. CONTINUUM OF CARE Gerontological nurses practice in a multitude of settings. Adults over age 65 comprise 48% of patients BOX 1-2 Additional Resources American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) P.O. Box 791333 Baltimore, MD 21279-1333 202-651-7000 800-284-2378 www.nursecredentialing.com John A. Hartford Foundation 55 East 59th Street 16th Floor New York, NY 10022-1178 212-832-7788 E-mail: mail@jhartfound.org www.hartfordign.org www.jhartfound.org Geriatric Nursing Review Syllabus: A Core Curriculum in Advanced Practice Geriatric Nursing (GNRS) (2003–2005) Available from the American Geriatrics Society 1-800-334-1429 ext. 2529 55805_CH01_0001_0025.qxd 2/19/09 1:01 PM Page 14 TABLE 1-2 Competencies Necessary for Nurses to Provide High-Quality Care to Older Adults and Their Families 1. Recognize one’s own and others’ attitudes, values, and expectations about aging and their impact on care of older adults and their families. 2. Adopt the concept of individualized care as the standard of practice with older adults. 3. Communicate effectively, respectfully, and compassionately with older adults and their families. 4. Recognize that sensation and perception in older adults are mediated by functional, physical, cognitive, psychological, and social changes common in old age. 5. Incorporate into daily practice valid and reliable tools to assess the functional, physical, cognitive, psychological, social, and spiritual status of older adults. 6. Assess older adults’ living environment with special awareness of the functional, physical, cognitive, psychological, and social changes common in old age. 7. Analyze the effectiveness of community resources in assisting older adults and their families to retain personal goals, maximize function, maintain independence, and live in the least restrictive environment. 8. Assess family knowledge of skills necessary to deliver care to older adults. 9. Adapt technical skills to meet the functional, physical, cognitive, psychological, social, and endurance capacities of older adults. 10.