What is DPEN Education?
DPEN is committed to educating current and future healthcare professionals about in-depth dementia care. This is done through a specialized curriculum that focuses on caring for people living with dementia and their family/friend care partner(s) across different healthcare settings. After completing DPEN Curriculum, learners will understand nursing roles and develop the skills to identify and evaluate cognitive, behavioral, emotional, spiritual, and physical challenges; evaluate health-related social needs; and evaluate whether their health system is able to treat dementia well. DPEN Curriculum offers a foundational, structured, in-depth overview of how to evaluate and address conditions that occur together (comorbidities), establish a strong relationship with people living with dementia, and establish care plans.
A New, Exciting Opportunity to Learn
The DPEN Curriculum is offered through the University of Washington School of Nursing—the leading educator of nurses among public colleges and universities—to second year BSN students.
Read more about the UW School of Nursing’s ranking.
Examples of DPEN Curriculum modules include:
- Introduction to Comprehensive Dementia Care for Nurses
- The Older Adult Population
- Dementia as a Disease
- Medical Management of Dementia
- Medical Management in the Context of Dementia
- Mood and Behavior Management in People Living with Dementia Part 1: Detection and Assessment
- Mood and Behavior Management in People Living with Dementia Part 2: Management and Education
- Care Partner Needs and Self-Care
- Care Partner Education about Medical Management
- Pulling it All Together: Care Planning
View the free Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) sponsored module, narrated by Dr. Soo Borson.
View other free trainings by DPEN team members on the CHSIE’s webpage under Ambulatory Care Nursing Modules.
How to Get Involved with DPEN Education
If you are interested in partnering with DPEN to offer the DPEN Curriculum to nursing students or practicing nurses—or if you are a UW undergraduate student interested in taking the DPEN Curriculum—please fill out our DPEN Curriculum Interest Form.
You can download the UW DPEN curriculum infographic to learn more and share with your network.
New opportunities for students and community members
- If you are a UW undergraduate nursing student who’s interested in reviewing our core DPEN Curriculum modules, view our student recruitment flyer.
- If you are a person living with early-stage dementia or a care partner of someone living with dementia who’s interested in reviewing the DPEN curriculum’s case studies, view our community recruitment flyer.
Piloting the DPEN Curriculum
DPEN partnered with Emory University’s Nurse-run Integrated Memory Care Clinic to pilot the Dementia Care Certificate training for nurses currently in the workforce as part of the Reimagining Nursing Initiative.
Our Sponsors
DPEN Education is supported by The Macy Foundation.
