Education, Human Services and Criminal Justice Department | C.P.C.C. Career Pathway Certificate of Completion | 6 months

Careers

Career opportunities include activity director, volunteer coordinator, senior services case worker, information and referral worker, client advocate, and administrative and support personnel in senior residential facilities.

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PROGRAM CODE: CC.GERHLCAREPRO

The need for nurses to be better prepared for caring for our aging population has been highlighted by the National League for Nursing (NLN) 2012, The Hartford Center for Geriatric Nursing (1996), The Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2012, Healthy People 20-20 and myriad other nursing organizations. Currently the Oregon Consortium for Nursing Education (OCNE) requires students receive Older Adult content in NRS-110 (Foundations of Nursing - Health Promotion) and then the assumption is that as the curricula addresses the lifespan of an individual, that more gerontology content is included throughout the program. Although this may be the case, it is up to each individual college and then each individual instructor to determine when and how much gerontology content to include. This career pathway certificate will address the need for students in nursing and other allied health care programs (such as Medical Assistant, and Emergency Medical Technology) to have the background and knowledge to work with the aging population. 

PROGRAM OUTCOMES

Upon the successful completion of this program, students should be able to:

• apply current theories in gerontology to their field of practice;
• apply gerontological concepts to practice settings working with older adults;
• differentiate between normal aging and disease processes associated with aging, especially chronic illness and dementia;
  • provide support to older adults grieving a loss (including the death of a loved one) by utilizing knowledge and skills of grief and bereavement;
• discuss the impact of aging on patient care in the allied health fields.