Nursing Care of the Older Adult

Student Learning Outcomes, Goals, Objectives:

Students successfully completing this course will be able to:

• Examine the developmental processes associated with aging.
• Analyze the impact of demographics and diversity on the care of the aged in the U.S.
• Assist older adults and their support networks to achieve individual goals, based on the analysis of the living environment and availability of community resources.
• Differentiate health problems common in later life that are the result of normal aging and those that are a result of pathology.
• Use valid and reliable assessment tools to collect data to guide nursing practice for older adults.
• Support older adult clients and their families/caregivers to maintain everyday living, transition between care environments, receive treatment, initiate advance directives, and implement end-of-life care.
• Explain the interrelationships among theory, practice, and research related to older adults.
• Use collaborative leadership and advocacy to facilitate ethical, noncoercive decision-making by older adults and their families/caregivers.
• Implement strategies to reduce risk and promote quality and safety in the nursing care of older adults.

Course Grading Information:

Activity/Performance Measure	Percentage/Points
Critical Reasoning Assignments	30%
Critical Assessment Assignments	40%
Quizzes	30%

Grading Scale:

Percentage	Letter Grade
100-95	A
94-92	A-
91-89	B+
88-86	B
85-83	B-
82-80	C+
79-77	C
76-74	C-
73-71	D+
70-68	D
67-65	D-
64 & below	F

Attendance/Participation:

Attendance in NUR 471, Nursing Care of the Older Adult, is measured by active engagement in course activities rather than physical presence. As an asynchronous course, students are expected to log in to Canvas regularly, review posted content, and complete assignments, quizzes, and assessments by the stated deadlines. For the purposes of this course, engagement is defined as the investment of time, energy, and thought into meaningful learning activities, including skills engagement (e.g., keeping up with readings and organizing study efforts), emotional engagement (e.g., finding relevance in the material and demonstrating interest), participation/interaction engagement (e.g., submitting assignments, actively participating in small group discussion, and communicating with the instructor as needed), and performance engagement (e.g., striving to do well on assessments and demonstrating achievement) (Dixson, 2015).

Consistent engagement in these dimensions is essential to meet course objectives. Failure to participate regularly may be considered non-attendance, which can negatively affect course standing and application of course content.

Course Materials Purchased by the Students:

No course materials are required.