Campus Currents

Finding Answers in Caring for the Elderly

As the nation’s elderly population grows, so grows the need to better understand health issues related to aging. Karen Tetz, associate professor of nursing, is finding answers to one issue that can face the elderly.

Tetz has received a $100,000 grant to support doctoral degree research she is conducting in geriatric nursing, specifically on the quality of family caregiving for frail elders.

Tetz received the grant through the John A. Hartford Foundation Geriatric Nursing Scholarship program. Tetz was one of 10 predoctoral and seven postdoctoral nurse scholars to receive the grant in the national competition. The program is part of a new initiative to address the critical shortage of nurses and specifically, geriatric nurses. It will also foster expert academicians, practitioners, and researchers who will lead the field of geriatric nursing.

Along with teaching, Tetz has worked for many years as a home health nurse. “Caring for elders in the community impressed me with their wisdom and courage, and the dedication of family in providing care. I came to understand the important difference that skillful nursing care could make in the lives of elders and their families,” she says. W

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