Using Simulation to Enhance Gerontological Content in the AGNP Curriculum

The Advance Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Consensus Document presents a new model for APRN regulation, including the population foci of Adult-Gerontology.    The Adult and Gerontological Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (AGNP), now offered at the University School Of Nursing (SON), combined the Adult Nurse Practitioner (ANP) and the Gerontological Nurse Practitioner (GNP) Program. Care was taken to ensure that gerontological content was infused throughout the curriculum.  One step in this process was an increased use of teaching strategies that target the adult learner including virtual patients (VPs) and standardized patients (SPs).

VPs are an opportunity for exposure to patients presenting with complex medical needs that students may not have the opportunity to see during traditional clinical experiences. The students function as the health care provider by completing a full history and physical and developing a diagnosis.  In a safe environment, they develop a management plan that includes diagnostic testing, patient education and pharmaceutical management. One example that has been used at the UMB SON is that of an elderly male who presents with worsening shortness of breath (SOB) over the past 6 months. While the student must address the SOB, they must also recognize that the patient has additional cardiac issues that are urgent and must be integrated into the current visit and plan of care.

SPs also provide students with the opportunity to experience the complex nature of older adult care in a structured live setting which they may have had limited exposure to in their precepted experience.  One scenario i an elderly female accompanied by her son.  She was recently discharged from the hospital with persistent short term memory loss. The student is expected to address both the complex medical needs of the patient and well as the challenging family dynamic between the patient and her son.

Scenarios were paired to the new Adult-Gerontological Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Competencies to ensure that the program was appropriate for entry level clinicians. Utilizing these unique teaching strategies, students can obtain an extensive understanding of the complex and challenging needs of patients across the life span.