A Study of Gerontological Nursing Curriculum

PURPOSE: To survey the present status of the gerontological nursing course at three year diploma programs, baccalaureate degree programs (BSN), and graduate programs in Korea, and to analyze the contents of the syllabus and gerontological nursing textbooks to provide the basic data in developing a standard model for gerontological nursing curriculum. METHOD: Data was collected from all the nursing programs in Korea from Nov. 2000 to Feb. 2001 by mail and fax. RESULT: The gerontological nursing courses has been offered 36 diploma program, 40 BSN, and 17 graduate programs. And the credits of the gerontological nursing course offered by the program were as follows : one credit (10 diploma and 8 BSN), two credits (22 diploma and 29 BSN), and three credits (1 BSN). The contents of curriculum were analyzed by comparing the core curriculum of NGNA. The majority of the schools included Gerontological Nursing in General, Theory of Aging, Aging Processes, Care Plan Options, and Common Health Problems. The subjects which very few school cover are Legal/ Ethical Issues, Evaluation, Regulatory & Reimbursement Issues, Education Issues, Nursing Research in Gerontology, and Environmental Issues of Older Adults. There were some differences in these results among diploma courses, BSNs, and graduate schools. The gerontological nursing textbooks contained similar contents to those of the diploma and the baccalaureate programs.