Development of nurse competencies to improve dementia care.

The rapid increase in the number of elders who need dementia care and the critical need for skilled care providers prompted Florida legislators to enact legislation to improve the care of these residents. One component of the new legislation mandated dementia training for long-term care staff and led to the development of dementia care competencies that would guide a competency-based curriculum to meet the demand for training. The competencies, methods used for development, and information regarding how to access these newly developed resources are described in this article.