Not certain what to get that academic geriatric nurse on your holiday list? Want something helpful, user-friendly, and free? Something guaranteed not to sit on a shelf? Look no further. The Hartford Geriatric Nursing Initiative (HGNI) team has three great gifts to satisfy that hard-to-buy-for gero nurse.

Give the Gift That Keeps on Giving
First is the HGNI Fundraising and Sustainability Toolkit.

Let’s face it. Times are tight (this is why you are looking for free gifts, no?) Schools of nursing are no exception. They need tools, resources, and products to assist with sustaining (and dare we say “growing”) successful nursing programs to advance geriatric nursing.

The HGNI Toolkit provides over 50 resources, links, and successful strategies used by academic institutions, expert consultants, and the Hartford Centers of Geriatric Nursing Excellence. The Toolkit has been organized into two easy-to-use sections: Resources for Dealing with Competing Priorities and Strategies for Engaging Donors.

This free toolkit will enable your academic gero nurse to initiate, sustain, and leverage new funding to grow the field of geriatric nursing. What could be better?

Gift Shop
Next up is the HGNI Journal Database.

This is a compilation of nearly 100 health, nursing, and aging-related journals to guide nurse researchers as they “shop” for places to publish their work. The HGNI Journal Database is organized alphabetically by journal title and shares each journal’s mission statement/scope as well as contact info. It has been praised for offering out-of-the-box publications and fits perfectly under the tree.

It Is Better to Give Than Receive
And lastly is the HGNI Dissemination Menu.

Don’t you hate it when you have a holiday party and no one comes? We at the Hartford Foundation feel the same about the great resources, tools, and products created by Hartford grantees. We want them to be used and therefore, with the help of the HGNI Dissemination Work Group, have created this Dissemination Menu.

Here your gero nurse researcher will find a listing of Web sites, organizations, and other vehicles for promoting activities, products, and opportunities available from HGNI members. The 46-item Menu is conveniently organized by target audiences including vehicles to reach faculty, deans/directors/leaders, practitioners, and students.

This gift is guaranteed to bring a smile to those gero nurse researchers who find the real holiday joy in giving (or rather, disseminating).

Stocking Stuffers
If your gero nurse researcher has been Extra Good this year, consider a few (free, of course) bonus gifts.

  • Bandwidth is a web repository of communication-focused resources designed and maintained by our communication gurus at Strategic Communications and Planning. This one-stop-shop is rich with products to help the gero nurse develop and effectively communicate his/her message. Bandwidth has data, photos, messaging, and tutorials to enhance, strengthen, and add visual impact to a variety of publications, presentations, and communications about aging and health.
  • The Portal of Geriatric Online Education (POGOe) is a free public repository of a growing collection of geriatric educational materials. These materials are presented in various e-learning formats, including lectures, exercises, virtual patients, case-based discussions, and simulations, as well as links to other resources. All HGNI products are labeled and are ready to be brought into the classroom. New products are added every month.

Now you’ve got no excuse. Go out there and spoil your favorite gero nurse rotten this holiday season.