Best Practices for Elder Care Course

The Best Practices for Elder Care course is a free, online, self-paced program consisting of four units of instructional content, four units of interactive case studies, and one 17-question self-assessment unit. Completion of the course is worth 4.0 hours of continuing nurse education units.

The intent of this program is to provide a self-sustaining Web-based resource for critical-care nurses that addresses complex problems specific to the older adult patient in acute and critical-care units.

Users who complete this course will be able to implement key components for promoting a healthy care environment for acutely and critically-ill older adults, describe and implement the strategies for promoting recovery of the older adult patient in acute and critical-care units and recall and demonstrate an understanding of the concepts and considerations specific to the care of acutely and critically-ill older adults.

Best Practices for Elder Care was a collaborative project developed by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), the American Association of Nursing (AAN), and the Hartford Institute. Read about the course authors and contributors.

http://www.aacn.org/WD/Practice/Content/Eldercare.pcms?menu=Practice

Portal of Online Geriatric Education (POGOe)

POGOe is a free public repository of a growing collection of geriatric educational materials in various e-learning formats, including lectures, exercises, virtual patients, case-based discussions, simulations, as well as links to other resources.

POGOe's mission is to promote geriatric education through the provision and encouragement of the free exchange of teaching and assessment materials that support the fields of geriatrics and gerontology.

POGOe was created in 2004, is funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, and managed by Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Department of Geriatrics and Adult Development, on behalf of the Association of Directors of Geriatric Academic Programs (ADGAP).  The site is a partnership between Mount Sinai and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Departments of Biomedical Informatics and Division of Geria

The Product Library contains over 500 training materials. An RSS feed for newly added products is available.

The POGOe Resources section provides links to useful external documents and websites.

POSTED, the site's newsletter, highlights new developments, tools and resources on the site; features a high-quality geriatrics website, and announces conferences and collaborations.

The site also features an "Ask the informationist" Q & A, where practitioners can submit a clinical question which will be answered by an expert in both geriatric medicine and library science.

Anyone can use POGOe and its resources at no charge, however user registration is required.

http://www.pogoe.org

Advanced Practice Web-Based Case Studies now hosted on ConsultGeriRN.org

An excerpt from the latest issue of the Hartford Institute of Geriatric Nursing e-newsletter. To see the entire issue, to to: http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs002/1101981701523/archive/1102073779817.html

The Hartford Institute's Advanced Practice: Web Based Case Studies have been redesigned, and are now hosted on ConsultGeriRN.org (http://consultgerirn.org/main/introduction). They are accessible to all ConsultGeriRN.org registered users (registration is free).

Constructed to mirror case studies typically used in nurse practitioner education, the geriatric case studies were developed by expert geriatric faculty with the support and guidance of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). Unlike the previous version, answers to questions are saved, so you can work through a case study over multiple sessions, and review previous answers!

NICE Announces Online Course is Now Available for Health Care Professionals to Audit

National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly (NICE) announced today that their online course, Institute for Life Course & Aging is now available for health care professionals to audit:

Current Research Topics in Aging and the Life Course, AGE2500H Health and Aging will be offered in May & June 2009 to students in our Collaborative Program. The online format allows us to open up the course to health care professionals in the field who may be interested in auditing the course.

This course is offered by the Institute for Life Course and Aging at the University of Toronto.

Syllabus Statement

This course examines the interface between health and aging. It examines a range of issues that affect the health of older adults. The focus of this course is on the development of a multidimensional understanding of the factors that affect older adults as they age.

Course Description

A widespread view of aging in Canadian society is one of dependency, disability and decline. However, older adults are living longer, healthier lives. How can health be maximized in old age? What public policies are required to support healthy aging? What are the determinants of health of the aging population? How do social and cultural factors affect the health of older adults? What strategies are available to promote and enhance a healthy aging population? These are examples of questions that this course will address.

Auditors are welcome to participate in online discussions, but will not do assignments or receive a grade. If you would like to receive certification of attending the course, there is an audit charge of $500. If you are interested please contact:

Susan Murphy susan.murphy@utoronto.ca 416 978-7037

E-Learning Resources on Mental Health for Older People

These e-learning resources are freely available to all users and, through audio, video and interactive uses of technology, aim to raise awareness of key issues, research, messages, policies and approaches relating to the mental health of older people and, in so doing, positively impact on practice.

These e-learning resources are suitable for social work students, social workers, social work support staff, care home staff, home care workers, health/social care workers who deliver long term care in community or institutional settings, voluntary workers and older people themselves.

These resources can be studied individually as self-study materials, used with students in a classroom or integrated within an institution's training programme.

http://www.scie.org.uk/publications/elearning/mentalhealth/index.asp

TLC for LTC

Teaching and Learning to Care: Training for Caregivers in Long Term Care (TLC for LTC) has been produced under the leadership of faculty from the University of Pennsylvania’s Schools of Medicine and Nursing in collaboration with many community based professionals and facilities.

TLC for LTC is a series of instructional modules directed to meeting the needs of Staff Development Educators (SDEs), those in long term care who are responsible for staff education, and instructors, or those who teach an individual class session

The individual modules are available free of charge to download from this website. Click on the title of the module you are interested in and download either the whole module or specific segments. For some modules a streaming video is also available online.

This electronic version of the TLC for LTC modules contain all text files, Power Point slides, and video clips needed to teach the module. Specifically they are:
Power Point Slides for projection.
Power Point slides with notes about the content for your use when teaching (switch view to Notes Version within Power Point).
Video segments. Some modules contain video segments; the instructor’s notes, found in the Notes version of the Power Point slides suggest how to use the videos in relation to the other content. The video segments are designed to illustrate different cases or situations that may occur in a variety of long term care settings.
Reproducible files containing materials for participants including a handout version of the slides, and often summary or supplementary information and tools for using the content
Topics for the modules are as follows:
Module 1: Fall Risk
Module 2: Pressure Ulcer Risk
Module 3: Adverse Drug Risk
Moduel 4: Cognitive Loss and Dementia
Module 5: Communication in Dementia through Behavior
Module 7: Continence: Causes Sign and Prevention
Module 8: Continence: Chronic and Complex UI
Module 9: Pain Assessment and Management
Module 10: Oral Health

http://www.nursing.upenn.edu/centers/hcgne/gero_tips/TLC/default.htm