Hendrix and McConnell Participated in the Fundamentals in Geriatric Nursing Education

Hendrix and McConnell Participated in the Fundamentals in Geriatric Nursing Education

Cristina Hendrix and Eleanor McConnell provided training for Durham VAMC nurses who participated as learners in the Fundamental in Geriatric Nursing Education sponsored by the Durham Elder Care in Hospital (ECHo) program.

ECHo, which started as a T-21 project in 2013, aims to increase knowledge and skills and improve attitude of nurses in providing care to older Veterans. This one-day interactive and experiential training discussed key elements and core concepts in geriatric care that included cognitive and functional assessment, nutrition, iatrogenic causes of delirium, polypharmacy,  pain management, and dementia care.

Other faculty who provided training were Maria Orsini, Monalesia Chapman, Evelyn Metz, Reggie Horwitz,  Jody Cherniak, Jonas Kritz, Ann Marie Patterson Powell, Padmavathy Adalam, Jessica Rabell, and Amy Mathis, all ECHo leaders who have participated in previous geriatric training. Gwen Waddell-Schultz, Associate Chief Nurse in Nursing and Medicine, serves as ECHo’s advisor.  Glenn Gargano from Occupational Therapy provided the learning activity for functional assessment.  In the next 10 months, the ECHo learners under the tutelage of the ECHo faculty will implement bedside clinical improvement projects to enhance nursing care delivery of our older Veterans.  After a year of receiving mentorship, the ECHo learners are anticipated to assist in the delivery of the 2017 Fundamentals in Geriatric Nursing Education Program to new group of learners.

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