Nursing Competence in Geriatric/Long Term Care Curriculum Development for Baccalaureate Nursing Programs: A Systematic Review

As facing the rapid growth of the elderly population, the demands for geriatric and long-term care are drastically increasing. Since one of the important strategies in preparation for long-term care system is to focus on the engagement of health care professionals, this paper applies a systematic approach to review the current geriatric and long term care courses in Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs. This review assessed the impact of Geriatric Nursing (GN) and/or Long Term Care (LTC) courses on nursing students' knowledge, care intention and competence of Geriatric Long Term Care (GLTC) care to enable their nursing competence before graduation. Data related to the purpose of the study, research design, sample, curriculum content, teaching strategies, evaluation measurements and results were extracted. The methodological quality of all publications was included in the review. Eighteen articles were eligible for analysis, including 16 quantitative and 2 qualitative studies. The review revealed that including geriatric and long term care content in undergraduate nursing curriculum could effectively enhance students' nursing competence. GN and LTC curriculum development should offer established content on geriatric and long term care as a foundation to implement early learning experiences in the curriculum. Both theory and clinical practice of GLTC course can be developed to increase the nursing students' knowing on the elders and the disabled through the clinical placement. •In 2000, John A. Hartford Foundation (JAHF) invested and established five Hartford Centers of Geriatric Nursing Excellence and a nursing scholarship program to increase the numbers of “gero”-focused faculty and research.•Impact of GLTC courses on nursing student's knowledge, care intension and competence for BSN programs were summarized.•Practicum courses can enhance students' clinical skills, care experiences and intention for geriatrics and disability care.•The contents of GN/ LTC courses should be integrated to avoid overlapping contents that would lower students' willingness to take the course.•Both theory and clinical practice of GLTC course should be developed to increase the nursing students' opportunity of knowing the elders and the disabled clients.