Baccalaureate Nursing Faculty Competencies and Teaching Strategies to Enhance the Care of the Veteran Population: Perspectives of Veteran Affairs Nursing Academy (VANA) Faculty

• Optimal care to our veterans requires specialized knowledge and expertise.
• Nurses must be taught this specialized knowledge to effectively care for veterans.
• There are specific faculty competencies, knowledge, and strategies that can be used.
• This qualitative study identifies those key competencies, knowledge, and strategies.

It is critical that faculty competencies, teaching strategies, and the essential knowledge relating to the care of our veterans be delineated and taught to health care professionals in order for our Veterans to receive optimal care. The purpose of this qualitative study was to ascertain from nursing faculty members who have worked extensively with veterans, the necessary faculty competencies, essential knowledge, and teaching strategies needed to prepare baccalaureate level nurses to provide individualized, quality, and holistic care to veterans. Six Veteran Affairs Nursing Academy faculty members participated in two 2-hour focus group sessions.There were a total of 12 multidimensional major concepts identified: 5 faculty competencies, 4 essential knowledge areas, and 3 teaching strategies specifically related to veteran care.The information generated can be used for faculty, staff, and or nurse development. Having a comprehensive understanding of veteran health care needs enable effective patient-centered care delivery to veterans, which is the gold standard in health care our veterans deserve.