Introduction to Gerontological Nursing

In this course students will be introduced to gerontological nursing practice across a range of environments. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the complexities involved in supporting older persons and their care partners through transitions in care within and across healthcare institutions and the community. Healthcare models and frameworks will be explored for their promise in mitigating the hazards older persons and their care partners face due to these complexities. Students will gain an understanding that the individual’s experience of care is highly influenced by the social and physical environment within which care is delivered. Additionally, attention will be given to the unique needs of a diverse aging population, including racialized, ethnoculturally diverse, 2SLGBTQ+, and gender-diverse older adults, who may face systemic barriers, culturally specific health beliefs, and differing family and community support structures. Students will be encouraged to apply principles of culturally safe, trauma-informed, and equity-oriented care in all aspects of gerontological nursing practice.

Students will learn to consider and apply the various sources of knowledge that inform nursing practice. They will engage in knowledge to action translation that aims to achieve the promotion and optimization of an older person’s health and well-being, regardless of the presence or absence of acute/chronic illness or end-of-life care needs. Students will acquire theoretical and research-based knowledge related to person-centered, collaborative, cross-cultural practices. They will demonstrate respect for an older person’s right to dignity, self-determination, safety, and freedom from abuse within the context of the law and regulatory standards.

Students will have the opportunity to apply knowledge at a beginning level while working with older persons and their care partners in a residential or non-acute institutional care setting during the clinical placement component of the course. Clinical practice expectations focus on building trusting, compassionate, and therapeutic relationships with older persons to promote healing and enhance functioning. Students will draw on knowledge related to health assessment and to foundational therapeutic and relational skills when caring for older persons to meet these expectations. The clinical component of the course will further inform students’ understanding of the aging process from a holistic perspective and an appreciation for the contributions gerontological nurses make to advancing quality living and dying experiences for older persons and their care partners.