Gerontology competencies: Construction, consensus and contribution

The term “gerontology” was coined in 1903 and is defined as the study of social, cultural, psychological, cognitive, and biological aspects of aging. Subsequently, gerontology began to develop into a “standalone” discipline with subfields intersecting with other disciplines such as medicine, social work, nursing, public health, political science, and psychology to name a few.

As an emerging and multidisciplinary field of study and practice it is important to establish an educational framework, one that is competency-based and can help set the stage for gerontology program accreditation to promote professional standards, enhance employment opportunities through graduation from an accredited school, and define competence for positions well-suited for gerontology graduates. It is also important to recognize, that like other now-established disciplines, the path to get there takes time, expertise, commitment and leadership.

Professional organizations, like the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE), California Council on Gerontology and Geriatrics (CCGG) and National Association of Professional Gerontology (NAPG), that have a commitment to gerontology and higher education, and were important in shaping the field and/or in developing its competencies, are also relatively new. AGHE was established in 1974 as the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education, CCGG in 1980, and NAPG in 2005. Gerontology schools are also relatively new – the first gerontology school in the United States, the University of Southern California (USC) Leonard Davis School, was not founded until 1975. In 2019, AGHE’s Online Directory of Educational Programs in Gerontology and Geriatrics includes 487 educational programs in gerontology (The Gerontological Society of America, n.d.). Seemingly, the rise of gerontology as a field comes 70 years after the coining of gerontology.

This report highlights the important efforts of AGHE, its volunteer leadership, and the workgroup that led to the development of the first integrative “Gerontology Competencies for Undergraduate and Graduate Education”© for the field. The report shares the mandate issued by the AGHE Executive Committee and GSA Council, and it describes the background, thought development, guiding framework and Delphi consensus process undertaken. The report also provides an agenda for further development, and a call to action – to apply the competencies to gerontology curriculum at all levels of gerontology degree and certificate programs; to create tools for better outcome measures; and to build academic and community partnerships to create a competency-based workforce to care for older persons and move the field forward.

The impact of this work will extend far beyond the report, the 2014 “Gerontology Competencies for Undergraduate and Graduate Education”©, gerontology programs and educators, and its national and international readers. Those who stand to gain the most are graduates, organizations who employ them, and the older adults they serve throughout their careers.

As a USC Leonard Davis School graduate, and student of Pamela Wendt, PhD, the value of gerontology competencies was impressed upon me early on through the Wendt, Peterson, and Douglass (1993) publication, “Core Principles and Outcomes of Gerontology, Geriatrics and Aging Studies.” It was quite clear that competencies, knowledge, skills, and attitudes, were linked to job position descriptions and the ability to articulate what a gerontologist brought to any given position. Years later in my career, as the Executive Director of CCGG, a statewide leadership organization that worked to strengthen and improve the quality of gerontology and geriatrics education in California, and a member of AGHE, I came to understand the importance of competency-based education on academic community college (AA/S), undergraduate (BA/BS), and graduate gerontology programs (MS, MA, PhD); in particular, its ability to produce highly skilled gerontologists. Today, given the demographics and workforce shortages, the need for gerontology competencies and accreditation are more important than early proponents may have imagined. Today also affords an opportunity for those who support the needs of older people to join AGHE in their efforts to help bridge the gap between gerontology education, the aging services, and the need for a competent workforce.

This report, and the 2014 “Gerontology Competencies for Undergraduate and Graduate Education”© continue to build upon the work of Wendt, Peterson, and Douglass, the work of those who preceded them, and those who will proceed them in the years ahead. In addition, they will provide faculty, students, graduates, and employers with clear expectations of a gerontologist’s knowledge and skill set.

Thank you to the current and past named authors, volunteers, faculty, organizations, and academic institutions, all who helped lay the foundation for this seminal work, all who have built a foundation for gerontology curricula and for gerontology students to better understand their value and contributions in the field of gerontology. Thank you also for the contributions you have made to my own professional development as a gerontologist.