The Longitudinal Elder Initiative: Helping Students Learn to Care for Older Adults

Abstract

This paper describes an educational innovation called the Longitudinal Elder Initiative (LEI), which was developed by a BSN program to improve students' knowledge about the health needs and nursing care of older adults. In the LEI, new nursing students are paired with older adults in the community and develop a relationship with them over the duration of the nursing program. Students complete a variety of assignments designed to facilitate learning gerontological nursing concepts. They also complete specific assessments designed to target common problems in aging. Students develop nursing care plans and interventions during the course of the project and monitor progress toward goals over time. Through the LEI, students develop relationships with older adults in the community and view their health changes longitudinally. In addition, students can observe how social, financial, and health-related factors affect health and well-being over time.

The education received by nursing students regarding nursing older people: a scoping literature review

“…These activities included, for instance, reminiscence , visits and meetings with older people (e.g. ), client assessments , familiarisation with varying healthcare settings and education about medication . From the students' perspective, the combined solutions were reported as useful in promoting their learning (e.g.…”

“…In addition to promoting learning, the students regarded these solutions as a positive experience overall (e.g. ), with the only criticisms relating to scheduling problems, the lack of a set structure and uncertainty over how to obtain answers to their questions .…”

“…For the emphasised skills, students developed skills in health assessment (e.g. 44,47,49), ways of facilitating communication (e.g. 50-52), client education (46,47,53) and culturally sensitive care (47,54).…”

Discovering intergenerativity: an evaluation of learning partnerships between student nurses and older adults

“…However, these authors suggest that developing positive bias towards elders requires more targeted and extensive learning exercises. An example of a more intensive practicum experience is The Longitudinal Elder Initiative (LEI) described by Davis et al (2008). The LEI pairs nursing students with older adults in the community, enabling a relationship to develop over the duration of the nursing programme.…”

Creating a New View of Aging

“…4 These healthcare trends place an unprecedented demand for nurses to provide optimal care to this complex population. [7][8][9][10][11] After attending a Geriatric Nursing Education Consortium (GNEC), faculty at our mid-Atlantic university undertook ''gerontologizing'' their curriculum. [7][8][9][10][11] After attending a Geriatric Nursing Education Consortium (GNEC), faculty at our mid-Atlantic university undertook ''gerontologizing'' their curriculum.…”