University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing
 "Building Capacity in the Nursing Workforce: Caring for Culturally Diverse Elders"

 Joyce Rasin, PhD, RN
The purpose of this project is to increase nurses’ capacity to  address the needs of rural and minority elders by developing two courses: Healthy Aging in Rural Communities(3 credits) and “Aging, Culture and Health” (3 credits).  A modular format will be used to organize the content, creating flexible units that can later be adapted for learners at other levels.

In Phase I we will develop  and offer  these courses to master’s students.  During Phase II, we will focus on adapting the two courses to meet the needs of doctoral students.  During Phase III, we will focus on adapting the courses for use with undergraduate students, preceptors practicing in rural areas of the state, and clinicians desiring to enhance their skills in serving culturally diverse elders.

We plan to adapt the master’s level modules for these varied audiences by developing objectives and learning activities specific to each group’s needs.  We will convert all modules to be fully web-based, and adapt and pilot modules for use with preceptors, undergraduates, and clinicians. The new courses and modules developed during Phases 1, 2 and 3, will be evaluated and revised throughout their development and implementation.