Lessons Learned from a Mentored Graduate Program in Gerontological Nursing

An educational training grant provided the funding for a 3-year project to recruit candidates into a mentored and redesigned gerontological advanced practice nursing program. The project goal was to design and implement a part-time program in advanced practice gerontological nursing that allowed nurses currently working in a long-term care (LTC) facility to maintain their full-time employment. Most of the students recruited worked at a partner LTC facility. The cohort was ethnically diverse. The outcome objective is board certification in gerontological advanced practice nursing. The mentored model offered a high level of support, including tutoring, professional role development activities, writing support, regular meetings, and workshops. Project faculty learned valuable lessons from this project relating to mentoring, tutoring, course scheduling, learning styles and preferences, and writing support. The part-time curriculum should also be reviewed critically.