Assessing the perceptions and attitudes among geriatric resource nurses: Evaluating the NICHE program at a large academic medical center

The national Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders (NICHE) program and the geriatric resource nurse (GRN) model promote training a geriatric nursing workforce to serve in hospitals and elsewhere. Literature exists on the NICHE program but this is the first to study the opinions, attitudes, and perceptions of GRNs in practice. Our organization’s hybrid GRN model, first adopted in 1999, combines materials from national NICHE program with homegrown resources and has GRNs practicing in a wide range of clinical specialties. This descriptive study, using survey design and administrative data, examined GRNs trained prior to 2017 to assess their (i) demographic, employment, and other characteristics; (ii) satisfaction with components of training program; (iii) ability to apply new knowledge and skills in practice; (iv) perceived support from leadership; and (v) perceived barriers encountered. Program outcomes, such as completion rates and workplace satisfaction, as well as areas for improvement and recommendation for future research, are also discussed.