Expertise in the care of older adults necessary for the 1.45 million people age 65 and over who reside in U.S. nursing homes.1

After the success of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Teaching Nursing Home Program in the 1980s,2 more data are needed to establish standards for a teaching nursing home (TNH) that can promote a robust, interdisciplinary learning and clinical environment. A TNH is a collaborative model for training practitioners from a variety of disciplines-nursing, medicine, dentistry, social work, and pharmacy-in best practices in geriatrics. Student placement in TNH differs from an ordinary clinical placement in that both the nursing home and the academic institution must identify specific standards, such as commitment to quality improvement and accountability, that students, staff, and faculty must adhere to.

The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, College of Nursing, New York University, under contract to the Health Resources and Services Administration, is testing the feasibility of TNHs that would serve as models designed to help improve the knowledge and skill of those who care for nursing home residents. Two facilities were chosen; the goals include preparing the facility to receive undergraduate and graduate students in nursing and social work; training teams; and identifying and solving problems in clinical practice, such as conflicts in end of life care planning.

Mathy Mezey, EdD, RN, FAAN

Ethel Mitty, EdD, RN

Sarah Greene Burger, MPH, RN-C, FAAN

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