With a demonstrated commitment to the field of gerontology research and education, the University of Central Florida (UCF) College of Nursing has become one of the newest members of the National Hartford Center for Gerontological Nursing Excellence (NHCGNE).
The NHCGNE is an elite national collaboration between the Coordinating Center at the Gerontological Society of America and nursing schools worldwide with the highest level of commitment to the field. Supported by a grant from the John A. Hartford Foundation, the NHCGNE is dedicated to optimal health and quality of life for older adults. Its mission is to enhance and sustain the capacity and competency of nurses to provide quality care to older adults through faculty development, advancing gerontological nursing science, facilitating adoption of best practices, fostering leadership, and designing and shaping policy. UCF is one of just 60 institutional members.
“Membership in the NHCGNE will allow our faculty experts to collaborate with other thought leaders in the field to develop cutting-edge best practices in nursing education,” said Mary Lou Sole, dean of the UCF College of Nursing. “This opportunity will further strengthen our gerontology program, which prepares competent and compassionate nurse leaders who will make a positive impact in patient care.”
Gerontology is one of the key research focus areas of the UCF College of Nursing, whose faculty members include nationally and internationally recognized experts in the field. These include five endowed chairs whose collective contributions include hundreds of published articles and books, and millions of dollars of funded research from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other organizations.
Active research includes a NIH funded study by Victoria Loerzel, PhD, RN, OCN, to develop an interactive game to improve self-management of chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting in older adults; care transitions of older adults with diabetes by Jacqueline LaManna, PhD, ANP-BC, BC-ADM, CDE; advance care planning of older adults by Norma Conner, PhD, RN; and fall prevention in older adults and healthy aging for rural older adults by Ladda Thiamwong, PhD, RN. Additionally, the College of Nursing is an active partner in the planning phase of Legacy Point in Oviedo, a UCF Foundation funded project to create a continuous care retirement community.
Further demonstrating its commitment to developing advance practice nurses in the field of gerontology, the college recently added an Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program. The graduate program was created to meet growing demand for nurse practitioners certified to provide care for acute adult patients in the community and nationwide. The UCF College of Nursing also offers an Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner program to prepare nurses for primary care practice on adult patients both at the master’s and doctoral levels.
For more information about the Adult Gerontology Nurse Practitioner graduate programs, gerontology research and more at the UCF College of Nursing, visit nursing.ucf.edu.