Successful recruiting into geriatric nursing: The experience of the John A. Hartford Foundation Centers of Geriatric Nursing Excellence

The overall goal of the John A. Hartford Foundation Centers of Geriatric Nursing Excellence (HCGNE or Center) program is to build academic geriatric nursing capacity. Thus, a key component of the program is to increase enrollment into geriatric nursing programs at the master’s and doctoral levels. The Centers successfully utilized a variety of recruitment strategies targeting prospective students who expressed an interest in geriatric nursing. These included exemplary use of media resources; participation in local, regional, and national recruiting events; establishing and maintaining personal contact with prospective students; garnering financial support; and curricular enhancements including new course/program offerings designed to meet specific needs. The aggregate outcome of the HCGNE student recruitment activities has been to enlist large cohorts of motivated and gifted students into graduate programs in geriatric nursing.