A New Resource for Preceptors and Students
By Melissa Kramps
GAPNA’s Gerontology Resources for APRN Preceptors and Students Eighth Edition toolkit is a free resource for all healthcare clinicians and educators who are educating students about the care of older adults. It was first developed in 2012 after a national discussion expressing the need for advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) educators to be prepared to deliver didactic and clinical gerontological content to all APRN students, not just adult gerontology-focused students.
Toolkit development has been a collaborative effort among members of the GAPNA Education Committee, which represents a diverse group of APRNs involved in gerontological education and practice. The goal of the toolkit is to make geriatric and gerontological content accessible to those caring for older adults. It is designed for APRN students, preceptors, and educators, and it provides a single portal to comprehensive resources.
The toolkit has two sections:
- Gerontological Resources for Primary Care and Community Settings
- Preceptor Resources. It is organized by primary care topics and includes links to websites and mobile device applications mostly in the public domain. The toolkit provides an open access practice resource for integration of geriatric knowledge for APRN clinical education, with the goal of improving the quality of health care provided to older adults.
The toolkit focuses on established gerontological and geriatric guidelines, algorithms, and content that have been successfully integrated into didactic and clinical education. Resources are primarily from open sources, organizations, and universities with a mission to improve care for older adults. The toolkit does not attempt to provide resources on every possible clinical topic; instead, it focuses on common clinical problems. Readers are referred to specific as well as broad resources that cover gerontological content.
New topics covered in the toolkit’s eighth edition are elder mistreatment, loneliness, COVID-19, asymptomatic bacteriuria, and disaster preparedness. A section on social determinants of health is also new to the toolkit. Preceptors will find the preceptor resources section useful because it provides tips on preparing for the preceptor role and suggested readings and clinical resources for preceptors. There are also links for mobile applications that offer geriatric assessment tools.
The GAPNA Gerontology Resources for APRN Preceptors and Students Eighth Edition toolkit is a rich resource that is a collaborative effort by GAPNA members who are passionate about excellent care for older adults. We hope you take the opportunity to explore the website and share it with your colleagues and students.
Melissa Kramps, DNP, GNP-BC, NP-C
melissa.kramps.dnp@gmail.com