Geropsychiatric Educational Resources for Nurse Practitioners

Abstract

Due to the increasing number of older adults, the numbers of those with mental health conditions will increase as well. It is estimated that there will be 18 million seriously mentally ill older adults in the US by 2060. Nurse practitioners will need to be prepared to identify and treat geropsychiatric health issues in older adults.  Common geropsychiatric issues nurse practitoiners will need to be prepared to address include dementia, delirium, depression, suicide, pain, sleep disorders, substance abuse, elder abuse and serious mental illness including schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder.  There are a growing number of teaching resources available to assist nurse practitioner faculty meet this need.  The Geropsychiatric Nurse Collaborative, Hartford Institute of Geriatric Nursing,National League for Nurses, and the Geriatric Education Centers have developed educational resources available for use by nurse practitioner faculty.  Additionally, organizations such as the American Geriatrics Society, American Delirium Society, American Psychiatric Nurses Association and Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association also have resources available for educational purposes. Brief descriptions as well as links to these resources are provided.