CHANGING AGING MYTHS AND READINESS FOR INTERPROFESSIONAL EDUCATION IN FAMILY NURSE PRACTITIONER STUDENTS

Abstract The preparation of Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) students caring for the older adult population is inadequate. design was a quasi-experimental pilot study (N = 30) to assess change in myths about aging and readiness interprofessional education (IPE) FNP near graduation. Woolf Aging Quiz (WAQ) containing 24 true-false adults, Readiness Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) 19 items rated on 5-point Likert scale (high score indicates more readiness), were completed at baseline post-intervention. intervention consisted 4-weeks normal aging, agism, age friendly healthcare, IPE using online weekly brief video presentations peer discussion. Thirty students, mean 43.5 years, 80.6% 25) female, 19.4% 6) male. A paired t-test showed no significant pre-post difference WAQ (t -1.388, p < .05). McNemar crosstab analysis indicated 14 where chose wrong answer pre post intervention. In addition, RIPLS .793, .05) from pre-intervention (mean 35.87) post-intervention 34.42). graduation held strong ageist beliefs, reflected WAQ, unprepared IPE. Both these results resistant change. data suggests that programs need address content earlier provide with exposure adults addresses affords both theoretical practical opportunities learning.