Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T13:12:06.008Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Educator Readiness to Improve Gerontological Curricula in Health and Social Service Education*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2017

Lynn McCleary ,
Veronique Boscart ,
Peter Donahue  and
Kelsey Harvey
Lynn McCleary*
Affiliation:
Department of Nursing, Brock University
Veronique Boscart
Affiliation:
School of Health & Life Sciences and Community Services, Conestoga College
Peter Donahue
Affiliation:
King’s University College, Western University
Kelsey Harvey
Affiliation:
Department of Health, Aging, and Society, McMaster University
*
†Correspondence and requests for reprints should be sent to / La correspondance et les demandes de tirés à part doivent être adressées à : Lynn McCleary, Ph.D. Department of Nursing Brock University 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way St. Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1 <[email protected]>
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study investigated the state of gerontology content in health and social service education programs in Ontario, and readiness indicators for change among administrators and faculty. We conducted a survey of teaching faculty (n = 100) and deans or directors (n = 56) of 89 education programs, which revealed mixed evidence on readiness for change. Most respondents thought their programs were adequate but needed enhancement. However, they were unaware of published gerontological competencies with which to evaluate their curricula. Beliefs about capacity for change varied, with half the participants indicating that their programs had sufficient faculty expertise in gerontology and geriatrics. Factors influencing readiness for change include lack of gerontological expertise; need for institutional and management support; need for additional teaching resources; and recognizing the need for change. There is an opportunity, by committing resources and time, to capitalize on the faculty and administrators who thought their programs should improve.

Résumé

Cette étude visait à évaluer le contenu actuel de la formation en santé et services sociaux dans les programmes ontariens (au Canada) en gérontologie, et les indicateurs de réceptivité au changement chez les administrateurs et dans les facultés. Un sondage a été réalisé chez les professeurs universitaires (n = 100) et chez les doyens ou directeurs (n = 56) de 89 programmes de formation. Les résultats sont mitigés concernant la réceptivité au changement. La plupart des répondants considéraient que les programmes étaient adéquats, mais qu’ils avaient besoin d’être améliorés. Cependant, ils n’étaient pas au courant des publications concernant les compétences en gérontologie qui leur permettraient d’évaluer leurs programmes. Les croyances associées à la l’aptitude au changement étaient variables ; près de la moitié des participants ont indiqué que leurs programmes faisaient appel à un corps professoral possédant une expertise suffisante en gérontologie et gériatrie. Certains facteurs contextuels ont pu influencer la réceptivité au changement dans cette étude : manque d’expertise en gérontologie, besoins associés au soutien institutionnel et administratif, besoins additionnels liés aux ressources pédagogiques, attitudes envers le changement et reconnaissance de la nécessité de changer les programmes de formation. On note cependant une opportunité associée à la forte proportion de professeurs et d’administrateurs qui pensent que leurs programmes devraient être améliorés. L’allocation de ressources et du temps nécessaires au développement des capacités, ainsi qu’à l’évaluation et à la modification du curriculum permettraient de concrétiser cette opportunité.

Keywords

aginggeriatricseducation of health professionalseducation of social service professionalsentry-to-practice educationcurriculumvieillissmentgériatrieformation des professionnels de la santéformation des professionnels des services sociauxformation d’admission à la pratiquecurriculum
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 36 , Issue 4 , December 2017 , pp. 501 - 513
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

We thank Alex Scordas and Kelsea Levesque for assistance with data collection. The research was funded by the Council of Ontario Universities and the Government of Ontario. The views presented in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Council of Ontario Universities or the Province of Ontario.

References

Armenakis, A. A., & Harris, S. G. (2002). Crafting a change message to create transformational readiness. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 15, 169–183. doi: 10.1108/19534810210423080 Google Scholar
Armenakis, A. A., Harris, S. G., & Mossholder, K. W. (1993). Creating readiness for organizational change. Human Relations, 46, 681–703. doi: 10.1177/001872679304600601 Google Scholar
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191–215. doi: 10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191 Google Scholar
Baumbusch, J., Dahlke, S., & Phinney, A. (2012). Nursing students’ knowledge and beliefs about care of older adults in a shifting context of nursing education. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 68, 2550–2558. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2012.05958.x Google Scholar
Baumbusch, J., Dahlke, S., & Phinney, A. (2014). Clinical instructors’ knowledge and perceptions about nursing care of older people: A pilot study. Nurse Education in Practice, 14, 434–440. doi:10.1016/j.nepr.2014.03.001 Google Scholar
Buchanan, D., Fitzgerald, L., Ketley, D., Gollop, R., Jones, J. L., Lamont, S. S., … Whitby, E. (2005). No going back: A review of the literature on sustaining organizational change. International Journal of Management Reviews, 7, 189–205. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2370.2005.00111.x Google Scholar
Canadian Geriatrics Society (CGS). (n.d.). Core Competencies (Learning Outcomes) for Medical Students in Canada. Retrieved from http://canadiangeriatrics.ca/default/assets/File/CGS_Competencies.pdf Google Scholar
Canadian Gerontological Nursing Association. (2010). Gerontological Nursing Competencies and Standards of Practice 2010. Retrieved from http://www.cgna.net/uploads/CGNAStandardsOfPractice_English.pdf Google Scholar
Career Colleges Ontario. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.ontariocollegesearch.ca/web/oacc/ Google Scholar
Charles, L., Triscott, J. A., Dobbs, B. M., & McKay, R. (2014). Geriatric core competencies for family medicine curriculum and enhanced skills: Care of elderly. Canadian Geriatrics Journal, 17, 53–62. doi: 10.5770/cgj.17.95 Google Scholar
Coleman, D. J. (2015). Does ageism still exist in nurse education? Nursing Older People, 27(5), 16–21. doi: 10.7748/nop.27.5.16.e693 Google Scholar
Colleges Ontario. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.collegesontario.org/directory/college-contacts.html Google Scholar
Dillman, D. A., Smyth, L. M. C., & Christian, L. M. (2009). Internet, mail, and mixed-mode surveys: The tailored design method (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Google Scholar
Elo, S., & Kyngäs, H. (2008). The qualitative content analysis process. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 62(1), 107–115. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04569.x Google Scholar
Fox, J. R. (2013). Educational strategies to promote professional nursing in long-term care: An integrative review. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 39, 52–60. doi: 10.3928/00989134-20121107-01 Google Scholar
Fulmer, T., Flaherty, E., & Hyer, K. (2004). The Geriatric Interdisciplinary Team Training (GITT) Program. Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, 24(2), 3–12. doi: 10.1300/J021v24n02_02 Google Scholar
Gordon, J. (2011). Updated survey of the geriatric content of Canadian undergraduate and postgraduate medical curricula. Canadian Geriatrics Journal, 14, 34–39. doi: 10.5770/cgj.v1412.11 Google Scholar
Gould, O. N., Dupuis-Blanchard, S., & MacLennan, A. (2015). Canadian nursing students and the care of older patients: How is geriatric nursing perceived? Journal of Applied Gerontology 34, 797–814. doi: 10.1177/0733464813500585 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gray-Miceli, D., Wilson, L. D., Stanley, J., Watman, R., Shire, A., Sofaer, S., & Mezey, M. (2014). Improving the quality of geriatric nursing care: Enduring outcomes from the geriatric nursing education consortium. Journal of Professional Nursing, 30, 447–455. doi: 10.1016/j.profnurs.2014.05.001 Google Scholar
Grealish, L., Lucas, N., Neill, J., McQuellin, C., Bacon, R., & Trede, F. (2013). Promoting student learning and increasing organizational capacity to host students in residential aged care: A mixed method research study. Nurse Education Today, 33, 714–719. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2012.11.017 Google Scholar
Hirst, S. P., Lane, A. M., & Stares, B. (2012). Gerontological content in Canadian nursing and social work programs. Canadian Geriatrics Journal, 15(1), 8–15. doi: 10.5770/cgj.15.21 Google Scholar
Horowitz, B. P., Tagliarino, J., & Look, K. (2014). Occupational therapy education, attitudes on aging, and occupational therapy students and therapists interest in gerontology practice. Physical and Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics, 32, 136–151. doi: 10.3109/02703181.2014.905898 Google Scholar
McAiney, C. (2006). Initiative #2: Physician training final evaluation report 2006. Retrieved from http://ocfp.on.ca/docs/cme/init-2–-final-evaluation-report.pdf Google Scholar
McCaslin, R., & Barnstable, C. L. (2008). Increasing geriatric social work content through university/community partnerships. Gerontology and Geriatrics Education, 29(1), 1–18. doi: 10.1080/02701960802074214 Google Scholar
McCleary, L., McGilton, K., Boscart, V., & Oudshoorn, A. (2009). Improving gerontology content in baccalaureate nursing education through knowledge transfer to nurse educators. Nurse Leadership, 22(3), 33–46. doi: 10.12927/cjnl.2009.21153 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. (2014). Personal support worker program standard. Retrieved from http://www.tcu.gov.on.ca/pepg/audiences/colleges/progstan/health/41469.pdf Google Scholar
Misiaszek, B. C., Borrie, M. J., Grymonpre, R., Brymer, C. D., Crilly, R. G., & Viana, L. (2008). Canadian university faculties of pharmacy: Undergraduate curriculum survey of geriatric content. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 65, 231–235. doi: aj650304.pdf Google Scholar
Monette, M., & Hill, A. (2012). Arm-twisting medical schools for core geriatric training. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 184, E515–E516. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.109-4195 Google Scholar
National Initiative for Care of the Elderly. (n.d.). Core interprofessional competencies for gerontology. Toronto, ON: National Initiative for Care of the Elderly. Retrieved from http://www.nicenet.ca/files/NICE_Competencies.pdf Google Scholar
Oakley, R., Pattinson, J., Goldberg, S., Daunt, L., Samra, R., Masud, T., … Gordon, A. L. (2014). Equipping tomorrow’s doctors for the patients of today. New Age and Ageing, 43, 442–447. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afu077 Google Scholar
Ontario Universities Application Centre. (2015). Links to Ontario Universities. Retrieved from http://www.ouac.on.ca/unilinks/ Google Scholar
Partnership for Health in Aging. (2010). Multidisciplinary Competencies in the Care of Older Adults at the Completion of the Entry-Level Health Professional Degree. Retrieved from http://www.americangeriatrics.org/files/documents/pha/PHAMultidiscComps.pdf Google Scholar
Rafferty, A. E., Jimmieson, N. L., & Armenakis, A. A. (2013). Change readiness: A multilevel review. Journal of Management, 39, 110–135. doi: 10.1177/0149206312457417 Google Scholar
Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). New York, NY: Free Press.Google Scholar
Sinha, S. K. (2012). Living longer, living well. Report submitted to the Minister of health and long-term care and the Minister responsible for seniors on recommendations to inform a seniors strategy for Ontario. Retrieved from http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/common/ministry/publications/reports/seniors_strategy/ Google Scholar
Stall, N. (2012). Time to end ageism in medical education. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 184, 727–728. doi: 0.1503/cmaj.112179 Google Scholar
St. Onge, J., Ioannidis, G., Papaioannou, A., McLeod, H., & Marr, S. (2013). Impact of a mandatory geriatric medicine clerkship on the care of older acute medical patients: A retrospective cohort study. Biomed Central Medical Education, 13(168), 1–6. doi: 10.1186/1472-6920-13-168 Google Scholar
The College of Family Physicians of Canada. (2013). Specific standards for family medicine residency programs accredited by the College of Family Physicians of Canada. Retrieved from http://www.cfpc.ca/uploadedFiles/Red%20Book%20English.pdf Google Scholar
The John A. Hartford Foundation. (1999). 1999 Annual report. Retrieved from http://www.jhartfound.org/images/uploads/reports/JAHF_1999_Annual_Report.pdf Google Scholar
The John A. Hartford Foundation. (2012). Celebrating thirty years of aging and health: 2012 Annual report. Retrieved from http://www.jhartfound.org/images/uploads/reports/temp_file_JAHF_2012AR4.pdf Google Scholar
Wang, D., & Chonody, J. (2013). Social workers’ attitudes towards older adults: A review of the literature. Journal of Social Work Education, 49, 150–172. doi: 10.1080/10437797.2013.755104 Google Scholar
Wong, R., Odom, C. J., & Barr, J. O. (2014). Building the physical therapy workforce for an aging America. Journal of Physical Therapy Education, 28(2), 12–21.Google Scholar
Zou, D., & Tannenbaum, C. (2014). Educational needs, practice patterns and quality indicators to improve geriatric pharmacy care. Canadian Pharmacists Journal, 147, 110–117. doi: 10.1177/1715163514521378 Google Scholar