UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Tressa Nese and Helen Diskevich Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence (CGNE) will host six seminars during its annual spring series to forward the center’s vision that every older adult deserves the highest quality of evidenced-based care and well-being that respects individual goals and preferences.
The CGNE Seminar Series Spring 2025 is presented in collaboration with Age-Friendly Care, PA; the Center for Nursing Research; and the Office for Outreach and Professional Development at Penn State’s Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing. The seminars provide an opportunity for participants to increase their knowledge about aging, geriatrics and gerontology as well as explore issues related to care and quality of life for older adults.
All are encouraged to attend — nurses and other health care professionals, clinical providers, students, and interested community members. The series is free and advance registration is required.
Sessions are held from Noon to 1 p.m. on Thursdays during the semester. Contact hours are available for RNs who hold a valid license and complete the necessary requirements.
This season’s educational topics and details are:
Jan. 30 — Addressing Delirium in Hospitalized Older Adults: Nursing Strategies for Enhancing Sleep Hygiene
- Chia-Jou "Elisa" Lin, doctoral candidate, Taipei Medical University (Taiwan), and visiting student scholar, Penn State
Feb. 13 — Geriatric Nursing: A Brief History of a Young Specialty
- Ann Kolanowski, professor emerita of nursing, Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing; professor emerita of psychiatry, Penn State College of Medicine
Feb. 27 — Optimizing Quality of Mealtime Care and Outcomes in Older Adults Living with Dementia: A Multilevel Approach
- Wen Liu, associate professor; director, Csomay Center Aging Hub; distinguished scholar in nursing; University of Iowa College of Nursing
April 17 — Stress, Emotion, and Cognitive Aging: The Role of Inflammation and the Importance of Prevention
- Jennifer Graham-Engeland, professor of biobehavioral health; associate director, Center for Healthy Aging; and director, Mechanisms of Emotion, Stress and Health (MESH) Lab; Penn State College of Health and Human Development
April 24 — Awake and Walking ICUs: Giving Patients the Best Chance to Survive and Thrive
- Kali Dayton, critical care nurse practitioner and critical care outcomes consultant, Dayton ICU Consulting
May 1 — Use of Virtual Reality in Nursing Simulation to Explore Caring for Patients with Dementia
- Vicki Kellogg, associate teaching professor, Nese College of Nursing, Penn State Altoona; and Rebecca Weaver, instructor, Nese College of Nursing, Penn State Altoona
Register here for any or all events in the virtual series.
The Nese College of Nursing is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by Pennsylvania State Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. Each one of these Nursing Continuing Professional Development programs has been submitted for 1.0 contact hours for participants who hold a valid RN license and attend the entire program; partial contact hours are not awarded.
CGNE offers seminars like this during spring and fall semesters annually. Check out past seminars on the YouTube playlist. Visit the website for more about the center.