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Delaware
Valley Geriatric Education Center (DVGEC)
Teaching
and Learning to Care: Training for Caregivers in Long Term Care
(TLC for LTC)
is 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. SDEs may often serve as instructors but may also ask
others to serve in this role. (Order formfor the LTC for TLC binder)
TLC for LTC includes a total
of eight modules. The six
modules in this binder are each self-contained instructional
modules for teaching 20-30 minute sessions to direct care staff
about risk assessment and prevention, cognitive losses and associated
behaviors, and palliative care. Each module includes all materials
for conducting staff education and includes planning materials
for the staff development educator (SDE), all materials for the
instructor, and handouts for participants. Although focused on
clinical topics, these modules also reference the use of quality
improvement programs and methods. Two additional self-study modules
for staff development educators to enhance their knowledge and
skills in education and in quality improvement will be released
separately. The ultimate goal of this series is to enable long-term
care staff to improve care of the frail elderly through staff
development which, in turn, supports quality care and improvement.
Principles
The many collaborators who helped produce TLC for LTC shared several
core principles about the functions of staff development and its
objectives for direct care staff. Simply stated, these include
that:
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Staff development is integral to quality improvement.
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Individualized
care of residents is the standard of care.
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Accurate
assessment of and appropriate responses to resident behavior
are core skills that CNAs and other direct care staff need if
a facility is to provide individualized care.
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Assessment of and reaction to the behavior of cognitively impaired
persons uses knowledge of physical, mental, emotional, and social
history and current status.
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All staff can make important contributions to observation, assessment,
reporting and responding to client/resident needs.
Objectives
With
these principles in mind, we developed the following Learning Objectives,
for the series as a whole. These objectives speak more to the anticipated
outcomes of the TLC for LTC series than to the process.
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Staff
developers and other inservice instructors will deliver' education,
using principles of adult learning within the framework of quality
improvement.
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Direct care staff will learn to recognize and assess risk for
falls, pressure ulcers, and medication errors.
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Direct care staff will be able to recognize and describe the
cognitive losses caused by dementia, and how they unfold as
the disease progresses.
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Direct care staff will be able to describe behavior as communication,
and develop skill in implementing individualized interventions
that best meet elders' needs.
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Direct care staff will be able to describe the elements of palliative
care in persons with dementia and how these elements can be
brought to bear in their own setting.
The
content is multi-disciplinary; it should be useful to CNAs and
the other caregivers, LPNs, RNs, recreation therapists, OTs, PTs,
social workers, day care workers, visiting nurses and others.
We hope that you find the modules user-friendly and self-explanatory.
(Module information)
Delaware
Valley Geriatric Education Center University of Pennsylvania
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