Competencies Currently in Development

Advanced Practice Nurses
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is developing national aging-focused competency requirements and curricular recommendations for the new model of master’s level nursing education that will combine two traditionally distinct areas of study in adult care and gerontology.
http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Education/Hartford/index.htm

Association for Gerontology in Higher Education
The AGHE Geriatric Curriculum Development Task Force is engaged in an interdisciplinary and organizational approach to constructing geriatrics/gerontology competencies and curricula guidelines for Health Professions Programs at every educational level.  Current work includes a mapping of competencies in nursing, social work and gerontology, at various levels of training. Additional disciplines will be examined, including public health.   

Occupational Therapy
Competencies for Gerontology Board Certification in Advanced Practice are in final draft form.
Contact:  Sue Berger, sueb@bu.edu

PHI
Competencies for Personal Care Workers (draft 2008):  Demonstration of this set of competencies provide a portable certification that will enable a direct-care worker to work in all long-term care settings, providing personal care services as well as performing specific health-related tasks for nursing home residents and Medicare-certified home health clients.
Contact: Jill Tabbutt-Henry, jtabbutt@phi.org

Specialties of Internal Medicine
The Association of Specialty Professors has a 4-year project to embed geriatrics training into internal medicine specialties. Special project grants have been awarded to seven specialties that may include articulation of specialty-specific geriatric competencies in continuing medical education material and research network development.
See:  http://www.im.org/CareerDevelopment/GrantsandScholarships/IGP/SpecialInterestGroups/Pages/default.aspx

West Virginia Geriatric Education Center
Interdisciplinary Competency Guide for Geriatrics.  Defines cross-cutting competencies in medicine, nursing, social work, pharmacy and dentistry that represent quality geriatrics practice for older adults and their families and/or caregivers. The GEC is now planning interdisciplinary learning activities, and intends to build a grid that links the competencies to discipline specific objectives, as well as trying to outline what learners from each discipline should achieve at each level of their training.  
Contact:  Mark Newbrough, MD, mnewbrough@hsc.wvu.edu