Nursing (NURS) 528

Overview

Nursing 528: NP: Older Adult Health is part of a program of study leading to a Post-Masters Diploma: Nurse Practitioner or the Master of Nursing Degree.

In Nurse 528, students study the Primary Health Care principle of Accessibility, and the Nurse Practitioner Competency of Leadership.

Students learn to provide primary health care to older adults, including wellness counseling and health education, management of acute and chronic conditions common to the older adult, and referral to other health care providers. Students learn to incorporate health promotion along the wellness-illness continuum, as well as provide primary, secondary and tertiary illness prevention for older adults. Students examine special considerations and issues in the care of older adults.

Outline

NURS 528 consists of the following 13 units:

• Unit 1: Leadership and Primary Health Promotion for the Older Adult
• Unit 2: Secondary Prevention
• Unit 3: Unusual Presentation of Illness and Geriatric Emergencies
• Unit 4: Acute Illness: Central Nervous and Cardiovascular Systems
• Unit 5: Acute Illness: Gastrointestinal System and Infectious Diseases
• Unit 6: Acute Illness: Acute and Chronic Conditions of the Musculoskeletal System
• Unit 7: Special Considerations in the Care of the Older Adult: Pharmacology and Dermatology
• Unit 8: Chronic Conditions – Nervous System and Head, Eyes, Ears, Nose and Throat
• Unit 9: Chronic Conditions: Cardovascular and Peripheral Vascular Diseases
• Unit 10: Chronic Disease Management: Pulmonary, GI and Renal
• Unit 11: Chronic Disease Management: Endocrine and Hematologic Systems
• Unit 12: Special Topics in the Care of the Older Adult: Complexity and Planning
• Unit 13: The Primary Care Principle of Accessibility

Learning outcomes

By the end of NURS 528 you will be able to

• critically reflect on the NP competency of leadership and explore the qualities and domains of leadership as they apply to the nurse practitioner role;
• Establish the reasons for the client encounter to determine the nature of the services required by the client
• Apply current, credible and reliable research, literature and standards to inform decision-making
• Integrate critical thinking and diagnostic reasoning to formulate differential diagnoses and final diagnoses
• synthesize the assessment of relevant functional health patterns including fall risk, driving ability, dementia screening, sensory function, mental health and substance abuse screening into the care plan;
• discuss issues particular to geriatric care including life transitions, caregiving roles, elder abuse, frailty, end of life issues, long term care, iatrogenesis, poverty and isolation, pharmacodynamics and polypharmacy, geriatric emergencies, and health education and health literacy;
• identify the social and cultural values of older adults in Canada in a way that promotes culturally sensitive care; and
• demonstrate integration of medical and nursing management of health concerns in older adults by providing evidence-based clinical services to well older adults and to those presenting with acute and chronic health concerns, at a level appropriate to a beginning practitioner, including:
  • health history and physical examination
  • clinical diagnoses and decision-making
  • ordering of laboratory and diagnostic tests
  • prescription of medications and treatments
  • administering treatments or procedures
  • therapeutic communication
  • collaborative relationships
  • documentation of clinical data, diagnoses, collaborations, communications and treatments, monitoring and follow-up;
• identify strategies for assessing and addressing accessibility issues within your health region; and
• complete medication reconciliation to make clinical decisions based on an analysis of the client’s current pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapy

• analyze POLYPHARMACY to identify unnecessary and unsafe prescribing, and deprescribe where possible.
• recommend or order evidence-informed non-pharmacological interventions and complementary, alternative and natural health products based on client preference, history and cultural practice.
• incorporate principles of pharmacological stewardship

Objectives

By the end of NURS 528 you will be able to

• critically reflect on the NP competency of leadership and explore the qualities and domains of leadership as they apply to the nurse practitioner role;
• identify and utilize current recommendations and tools for preventative screening in the older adult;
• synthesize the assessment of relevant functional health patterns including fall risk, driving ability, dementia screening, sensory function, mental health and substance abuse screening into the care plan;
• discuss issues particular to geriatric care including life transitions, caregiving roles, elder abuse, frailty, end of life issues, long term care, iatrogenesis, poverty and isolation, pharmacodynamics and polypharmacy, geriatric emergencies, and health education and health literacy;
• identify the social and cultural values of older adults in Canada in a way that promotes culturally sensitive care; and
• demonstrate integration of medical and nursing management of health concerns in older adults by providing evidence-based clinical services to well older adults and to those presenting with acute and chronic health concerns, at a level appropriate to a beginning practitioner, including:
  • health history and physical examination
  • clinical diagnoses and decision-making
  • ordering of laboratory and diagnostic tests
  • prescription of medications and treatments
  • administering treatments or procedures
  • therapeutic communication
  • collaborative relationships
  • documentation of clinical data, diagnoses, collaborations, communications and treatments, monitoring and follow-up;
• articulate, promote and implement, evidence-based primary, secondary and tertiary health promotion and illness prevention strategies along the health-illness continuum;
• identify strategies for assessing and addressing accessibility issues within your health region; and
• determine which populations may have reduced access to primary care based on location, ethnicity, income, health literacy, language and lifestyle.

Evaluation

The assessment structure for NURS 528 is based on the following course activities, with the percentage weighting of each activity as indicated. The final grade for the course is a composite mark based on your performance on these course activities.

In order to pass NURS 528, you must achieve a minimum mark of 70% on conference participation, a minimum combined mark of 70% on the assignments, and a minimum combined mark of 70% on the exams.

If the minimum mark is not achieved on any element of the assessment structure (conference participation, written assignments, exams), then a failing grade will be assigned for NURS 528. If the student re-registers in NURS 528, then all elements of the course must be repeated (conference participation, written assignments, examinations).

Materials

Digital course materials

Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:

Warshaw, G. A., Potter, J. F., Flaherty, E., Heflin, M. T., McNabney, M. K., & Ham, R. J. (Eds.). (2022). Ham’s primary care geriatrics. A case-based approach (7th ed.). Elsevier.

Online Materials

• Introduction: Provides essential information about the course materials, the design of the course, and the procedures you should follow to complete the course successfully.
• Schedule: Outlines the timing of course activities.
• Units: There are fourteen units in this course. Resource lists of required reading, websites and citations are integrated into the Units.
• Assessment: Outlines the assignments/evaluation procedures of the course.

Other Materials

Textbooks and readings from other Nurse Practitioner Practice courses will be used as appropriate. A list of optional additional reference texts is included.

Technical Requirements

Computer System

In order to successfully complete this course, you must own or have ready access to certain computer hardware and software programs. For complete and up-to-date information on the minimum computer requirements required to complete the graduate nursing courses, visit the Centre for Nursing and Health Studies technical site.

Important links

• Student services in FHD
• Support services at AU
• Faculty of Graduate Studies
• Faculty of Health Disciplines
• Graduate Calendar