Gerontological Nursing Certificate Program

GNC 460 - Advanced Concepts in Geriatric Care and Practice

Syllabus

Breyer State University offers a complete Certificate program in Gerontological Nursing. This is a 12-semester hour course and provides a comprehensive and detailed curriculum in this nursing specialty. The program uses the latest and authoritative texts. The certificate program objective is to prepare nurses to practice at a competent level of knowledge and skill in Gerontological nursing and to provide a vehicle for appropriate credentialing for nurses in this specialty practice or aspiring to practice in Gerontological nursing.

Upon successful completion of the certificate program, graduates receive a College Certificate in Gerontological Nursing, and 12-semester hours of college credit. CEU certificates are also available for 180 contact hours.

You may enroll at anytime and begin your studies. The Certificate Program is designed to be a self-paced program with one to one faculty mentoring. you are permitted 12 months from the date of enrollment to complete the program. You study and meet the program objectives at their own pace, and are permitted to complete the program in less than the 12-month allotted time frame.

Once officially enrolled, you are given a security password and directions to accessing the online classroom for the Certificate Program. The classroom contains information about me, course assignments, ordering information for textbooks, course objectives, syllabus and information regarding exams. You correspond with me via email, and/or phone.

This course focuses on the major theories and practice component for the care of geriatric patients. The emphasis is on learning of key concepts and theories of aging and the development of interventions for health promotion of the geriatric patient population. This comprehensive, advanced course, also focuses on major issues such as legal and ethical issues in geriatric nursing, issues with pharmacology and medications, public policy, standards of care, health teaching, mental health issues and family psychodynamics. Students undertake the study of a very wide and comprehensive array of issues and problems related to the geriatric patient population.

EXAMS: During your studies, you will use two textbooks and will create a "Learning Portfolio" by moving through the texts and answering questions related to the reading assignments. Following completion of the Learning Portfolio, you will take one final examination, which is open book. You are given a particular time frame in which to complete the final examination.

GRADES: The Learning Portfolio is graded on a Pass/Fail basis. The final examination is objective type and students receive a letter grade based on the following scale:

90-100%    = A
80-89%      = B
70-79%      = C
below 70%  = Fail

Students must receive a letter grade of C or higher to successfully complete the program.

TEXTBOOKS: The following texts are used in the Certificate Program:

Book 1: Handbook of Geriatric Nursing Care. Springhouse PA; Springhouse Corporation:1998.

Book 2: Gerontological Nursing: A Health Promotion/Protection Approach. Second edition. By Mickey Stanley and Patricia Gauntlett Beare. Philadelphia;F.A. Davis Company:1999.

PREREQUISITE: You must be a Registered Nurse or a Licensed Vocational Nurse to apply for this program. A bachelor's degree is NOT required.

INSTRUCTOR: The instructor for this Certificate Program is Dominick L. Flarey, PhD, MBA, RN,CS, CNAA, FACHE.

PROGRAM COMPLETION: Upon successful completion of all three courses in the program, you are graduated and receive the College Certificate in Gerontological Nursing. You receive official transcripts detailing the courses and semester hours awarded, and receive a beautiful college certificate diploma.

INFORMATION: If you have any questions regarding this certificate program, you may address them to info@breyerstate.com . An administrative faculty member will respond to all questions.

COURSE SYLLABUS

TEXTBOOK: There is one textbook required: Gerontological Nursing: A Health Promotion/Protection Approach, Second Edition, By: Mickey Stanley and patricia Gauntlett Beare. FA Davis Company;Philadelphia:1999. ISBN# 0-8036-0369-X.

Ordering Information: you may order this book from any source that you wish. Many of the major bookstores through out the country will special order this book for you.

You can also order this book online at:

Borders books at
http://www.borders.com

Amazon.com at
http://www.amazon.com

Barnes and Noble at
http://www.bn.com

This course focuses on the major theories and practice component for the care of geriatric patients.

COURSE CONTENT:

1) Health Promotion
2) Public Policy and Standards of Care
3) Theories of Aging
4) Mental Health and Wellness
5) Cultural Dimensions of Care
6) Legal & Ethical Issues in Gerontological Care
7) Pharmacology and Older Adults
8) Health Protection Issues & Strategies
9) The Aging Body Systems
10) Multi system Alterations
11) Issues of Immobility
12) Fall Prevention
13) Pain Management
14) Cancer in Older Adults
15) HIV in Older Adults
16) Family Psychodynamics
17) Elder Mistreatment
18) Depression and Suicide
19) Spirituality in Older Adults
20) Sexuality and Aging
21) Alcoholism in Older Adults
22) Homeless Older Adults
23) Death & Dying
24) Sleep Disturbances
25) Dementia
26) Current and Future Issues in Gerontological Nursing

COURSE OBJECTIVES: At the completion of this course, you will:

1). Understand the aging process from a physiological and anatomical perspective
2). Conduct comprehensive assessments on the geriatric population
3). Understand pathophysiology as it relates to aging
4). Discuss the effects of illness/disease on the aging
5). Identify and discuss major issues related to health promotion and wellness in the aging patient.
6). Identify public policy issues related to the aging adult.
7) Define issues related to cultural differences in patient populations.
8) Define and discuss the major legal and ethical issues related to the care of aging adults.
9) Prepare a health teaching and compliance program for aging adults based on sound principles of education and aging.
10) Identify major issues related to polypharmacology in the aging adult.
11) Define and Discuss the pathophysiology of aging of all major body systems.
12) Define and Discuss major alterations in all body systems and appropriate interventions and treatments.
13) Discuss issues of pain management in the care of older adults.
14) Understand issues of oncology as related to older adults.
15) Understand issues related to HIV infection in older adults.
16) Define and discuss family psychodynamics related to older adult family members and effective strategies for intervention.
17) Discuss issues of elder mistreatment and abuse.
18) Discuss depression and suicide in older adults.
19) Define and discuss spirituality and pastoral care of older adults.
20) Understand problems with sexuality and aging.
21) Identify issues of alcoholism and treatment interventions in the older adult.
22) Discuss homelessness and define interventions.
23) Understand and discuss issues of death and dying.
24) Define and discuss multiple issues related to alternations in mental processing and appropriate interventions and treatments.

COURSE PROGRESSION: The course begins on the date of student enrollment. You have 90 days to complete this course. Extensions are rarely granted, and then, only for extreme emergencies or active military duty. You who do not complete the course within the 90 day time frame receive an "incomplete/withdrawal" and would have to re-register and pay tuition again if they desire to complete it.

This is a self-paced course. You may proceed at the pace that is right for you. It is acceptable to accelerate in this course and complete it in less than 90 days.

As you progress through the course, always feel free to contact me to discuss issues, questions, etc related to the course. I am there to be a mentor to you as you proceed with learning.

INSTRUCTOR CONTACT: You may contact me via email at any time. You may also request to have a meeting in a chat room with me. Please make such requests directly to me, I will then set the date and time for the chat room meeting. I will answer your emails within 48 hours of receipt.

EXAMS: There is only one examination for this certificate program. The examination may be taken upon successful completion of all of the assignments for Courses I, II, and III in this certificate program. Assignments are graded on a letter grade scale. Students must receive a 70% or above on all assignments and examinations to receive credit for this course. The final examination is open book, and you have three days to complete it. I will give you full instructions on accessing and taking the exam as you progress in the certificate program. The final examination covers the materials from all three courses in the certificate program. The final examination consists of objective type questions. The grade scale for the final examination is provided above.

ASSIGNMENTS: All of the assignments for this course are detailed in the classroom. Students will complete a comprehensive learning portfolio covering the materials presented in this course, and will take one comprehensive final examination, objective-type.

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