Developing Gerontological Nursing Education in China through Multidisciplinary Innovations

GeNEdu project aims to renew nursing curricula through building capacities of the Chinese HEIs to develop gerontological nursing education for future health care professionals to meet the needs of the ageing society in China. GeNEdu Consortium consists of three European HEIs (JAMK, FI; Hanze, NL; THCC, EE) and three Chinese HEIs: Beihua University (BH), Guangdong Medical University (GDMU) and Guanzhou Health Science College (GHSC). The common needs for the Chinese HEIs are as follows: 1) Developing core competences for gerontological nursing based on EU standards, 2) Integration of evidence and competence based approach to nursing curricula, 3) Integration of the contents of healthy and successful ageing (Healthy China 2030 Plan) to nursing curricula, 4) Enhancing digital skills, communication, multicultural and internationalisation skills in nursing curricula, 5) Integration of e-pedagogy in nursing theory and practical training, 6) Integration of multidisciplinary gerontology in different health care settings, 7) Strengthening EU-China cooperation as per HEIs’ strategies. Activities include identifying core competences; organising train-the-trainers workshops with mentoring approach; co-creating Living Labs, e-learning course and practical training trials, and developing competence-based curricula. The main results of the project are a) a verified Competence Framework describing the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed in gerontological nursing, b) Handbook on Gerontological Nursing Education in Chinese HEIs, c) built Living Labs, and d) accredited 30 ECTS Credit Modules in gerontological nursing integrated to nursing curricula of Chinese HEIs. The project moves the approach of gerontological nursing in China from the care for older people towards care with older people for successful aging. Also the focus in education shifts from the traditional, theory-based and teacher-centered pedagogy towards practice oriented, student-centered learning.