93223 Nursing Care of the Older Person
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Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Subject level:
Undergraduate
Result type: Grade and marksThere are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Description
In this subject students explore the foundational principles and practice of person-centred nursing care of the older person in a variety of health care contexts. Students explore the normal ageing process and the diseases and dysfunctions that can occur in older age. The provision of quality care to the older person with multiple physical, social and psychological co-morbidities is emphasised. Students gain skills in undertaking comprehensive health assessments of older persons and gain an understanding of interprofessional approaches to care. Students continue to develop nursing skills specifically in relation to detecting deterioration in older persons in different settings, communication skills, complex wound management and end-of-life care. Students develop an understanding of The Aged Care Standards and how they relate to their nursing practice, with reference to the recent Royal Commission in to the Aged Care Quality and Safety. Through the provision of interactive online modules, collaborative laboratory activities and lectures provided by industry experts, this subject encourages students to engage with this important area of healthcare.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
| A. | Determine the processes of and supports for healthy ageing in contemporary Australian society using a health promotion framework (RN Standards for Practice 1, 2, 4, 6 & 7) |
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| B. | Undertake comprehensive person-centred social and health assessments, care planning and interventions for the older person based on foundational gerontological knowledge and skills (RN Standards for Practice 3, 4, 5 & 7). |
| C. | Identify the implications of chronic and/or life limiting illness for the older person and their family, the impact of multiple co-morbidities and the role of the nurse in enabling optimal care (RN Standards for Practice 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 & 7). |
| D. | Explain the nature and scope of a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach to the continuity of care of the older person, across varied healthcare contexts (RN Standards for Practice 2, 5 & 7). |
| E. | Develop and demonstrate nursing knowledge through reading, questioning and synthesising relevant professional and scholarly evidence, including government legislation and policies and apply such evidence to nursing practice, writing in a style appropriate to purpose and context (RN Standards for Practice 1, 3 & 6). |
| F. | Develop therapeutic communication skills in the assessment of older people with complex health needs (RN Standards for Practice 2, 3 & 7). |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes specifically to the following graduate attributes:
- Demonstrates an ability to provide holistic and compassionate care that takes into account people's lived experience, views and feelings. (1.1)
- Works in partnership with patients including them in decisions related to their care. (1.2)
- Demonstrates the ability to develop therapeutic relationships while maintaining professional boundaries. (3.1)
- Works in partnership with healthcare providers and other stakeholders toward common goals that prioritise patients' values, needs and preferences. (3.3)
- Uses information and communication technologies to access valid sources of evidence. (4.1)
- Accesses, appraises and critiques multiple sources of evidence and transfers knowledge to practice. (4.2)
- Plans and provides care based on the best available evidence including clinical expertise and patients' individual needs, values and preferences. (4.3)
- Uses creative and rigorous thinking skills to identify and address novel and emergent healthcare problems. (6.1)
- Uses clinical reasoning skills to accurately assess, interpret and respond to patient data in a systematic and timely manner. (6.2)
- Recognises and responds to human and systems factors that have the potential to jeopardise patient safety. (7.2)
Teaching and learning strategies
Workshops
In this subject, students will participate in workshop-style classes incorporating theory and simulated clinical practice that are designed to encourage engagement with nursing care of older adults in healthcare settings.
Lectures
Online lectures are provided to enable students to clarify, discuss and develop subject concepts. Lecture schedule will be available in Canvas.
Clinical skills, collaboration, communication and simulation
Students participate in clinical laboratory sessions that focus on integration of key concepts and skills. In these sessions, students are introduced to a range of nursing skills, including assessment and interventions and simulation activities. Simulation activities are practical learning experiences designed to give students exposure to a range of scenarios that may be encountered in practice. Activities include the use of audio-visual aids and clinical equipment set-ups with mannequins, teaching staff or students as simulated patients/consumers. Students learn and practice clinical and interpersonal skills in groups with case scenarios in the laboratories. These practice scenarios incorporate the development of professional communication skills including professional and therapeutic communication required for nursing practice. Students are provided feedback and with the opportunity to collaborate and develop skills to work effectively as a team member.
Patient stories and clinical case scenarios
Cases are used to help students explore health related scenarios. Cases depict patients/consumers and their families in community, acute care and residential aged care settings. Students use these scenarios to learn concepts, interpret information, form clinical judgements and develop creative solutions. Critical thinking is developed through analysis, interpretation of and reflection on issues or situations.
Content (topics)
Healthy ageing in a range of contexts within Australian society including:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s health, transition through health, illness and death; advance care planning/directives; achieving quality of life; poly-pharmacy in health maintenance; carer support; mental health issues.
- Healthy ageing and ill health including: normal ageing processes; alteration to functional health patterns; continence; cognitive dysfunction; dementia, delirium and depression; co-morbidity and chronicity; disease and disability.
- Comprehensive, person centred, social and health assessment using strengths based approach for care planning including: comprehensive history taking; functional assessments; person centred care planning, nursing intervention and care delivery.
- Interprofessional approaches to the continuity of care within varied health care contexts including: collaborative care across the health professions, community care, transitional care, acute care, rehabilitation, differing levels residential aged care, accommodating different ethnic groups and cultural expectations in residential aged care.
- Clinical skills including: wound assessment and management (including complex wounds); wound packing and/or removal; medication administration in acute care and residential care settings; detecting deterioration in the older person, bladder scan; setting up and monitoring of sub-cutaneous infusions via syringe driver.
- Additional specific skills
Assessment
Assessment task 1: In-class Quiz
| Intent: | Students will demonstrate knowledge of the content learnt in the workshop classes. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): A, B, C, D and E This assessment task contributes to the development of graduate attribute(s): 1.1, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 |
| Type: | Quiz/test |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 30% |
| Length: | 20 minutes per quiz. |
Assessment task 2: Group Presentation
| Intent: | Students will demonstrate knowledge on foundational principles on ageing well and reflect on their role as a nurse in enabling optimal care for older persons. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): C, D and E This assessment task contributes to the development of graduate attribute(s): 1.1, 3.3, 4.2, 6.2 and 7.2 |
| Type: | Presentation |
| Groupwork: | Group, group assessed |
| Weight: | 30% |
| Length: | Each presentation will involve small groups of up to five students presenting for 2 minutes each; Total time for each group will include 10 minutes of presentation time and 5 minutes of question time. |
Assessment task 3: Care Planning
| Intent: | This assessment will provide an opportunity to develop knowledge on the complex care needs of older persons that arise due to the ageing process, life circumstances and chronic conditions that intersect to impact on their level of functioning and quality of life. Students will demonstrate their ability to apply a person-centred approach, identify issues affecting an older person and develop evidence-based nursing recommendations. Students will demonstrate their ability to verbally communicate the complex care needs of older persons. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): A, B, C, D, E and F This assessment task contributes to the development of graduate attribute(s): 1.1, 1.2, 3.1, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 and 6.1 |
| Type: | Case study |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 40% |
| Length: | Video - 10 minutes. |
Required texts
There is no prescribed text for this subject. Linkage to resource material will be be provided for the subject in UTS Canvas.
Recommended texts
Johnson, A & Chang, E (Eds) 2021 Caring for older people in Australia: Principles for nursing practice, Wiley& Sons Australia.
References
Aged Care Workforce Strategy Taskforce. (2018). A Matter of Care Australia’s Aged Care Workforce Strategy. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/a-matter-of-care-australias-aged-care-workforce-strategy
Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council. (2017). National Strategic Framework for Chronic Conditions. Government Canberra. https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/national-strategic-framework-for-chronic-conditions
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2020). Australia’s Health 2018. Canberra, Cat. No. AUS 231. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/australias-health-2020-data-insights/summary
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2020). Dementia in Australia. Cat No DEM3, AIHW, Canberra.https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/dementia/dementia-in-australia-2021-summary/overview
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2019). Australia’s Welfare 2019: data insights Canberra, Cat. No. AUS 226. http://doi.org/10.25816/5d5e14e6778df
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2019). Consumers experience of residential aged care Australia 2017-2019. Cat No AGE101, AIHW Canberra. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/aged-care/consumers-experience-of-residential-aged-care/contents/summary
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2019). Older people. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports-data/population-groups/older-people/about
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2018). Causes of death patterns and peoples use of aged care: a Pathways in Aged Care analysis of 2012-2014 death statistics. Canberra: AIHW. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/aged-care/cause-of-death-patterns-peoples-use-of-aged-care/contents/table-of-contents
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2018). Older Australia at a Glance 4th Edn, Cat. No. AGE87, AIHW, Canberra.http://DOI: 10.25816/5ec5bda5ed178
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2015). Use of aged care services before death. Data linkage series no. 19. Cat. no. CSI 21. Canberra: AIHW. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/aged-care/use-of-aged-care-services-before-death/contents/table-of-contents
Blaževi?ien? A, Laurs L, Newland JA. (2020). Attitudes of registered nurses about the end - of - life care in multi-profile hospitals: a cross sectional survey. BMC Palliat Care. 19;19(1):131. doi: 10.1186/s12904-020-00637-7. PMID: 32814574; PMCID: PMC7439667.
Brown, D., Edwards, H., Buckley, T., & Atiken, R. (2019). Lewis’ medical-surgical nursing: Assessment and management of clinical problems, 5th edn, Elsevier/Mosby, Sydney.
Crisp, J., Douglas, C., Reberio, G., & Waters D. (2020). Potter and Perry’s fundamentals of nursing, 6th edn, Mosby/Elsevier, Sydney.
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. (2016). Registered Nurse Standards for Pratice, https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-Statements/Professional-standards/registered-nurse-standards-for-practice.aspx
Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. (2021). Final report Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. https://agedcare.royalcommission.gov.au/publications/final-report
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