Master of Gerontology
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About this unit

For the first time in history, societies – including in Australia – are facing the challenging phenomenon of an ageing population, within which the ageing population is larger than the younger population. For health professionals to meet the increasing levels of complex care required, there needs to be a greater level of education, all of which ensures older Australians receive the person-centred care they require.

This unit provides health professionals – and those seeking work in Aged Care – a pragmatic knowledge of Aged Care best practice, grounded in physical, psychosocial and culturally safe perspectives.

About this unit

Holistic and person-centred Aged Care is dependent on health professionals having a sophisticated understanding of healthy ageing and ageing processes.

This unit focuses on the principles of health promotion, encompassing social health determinants, nutrition, exercise and the use of technology and health data. You will learn about the principles that guide chronic illness management and disease prevention, while also developing an understanding of how social contexts contribute to quality of life improvements in older Australians.

About this unit

Providing complex wound care to people in acute, residential and community health areas is a growing challenge for healthcare services. Quality wound care for the older person requires a holistic approach, as impacts are seen in every aspect of a person’s life.

This unit provides you with an in-depth knowledge of acute and chronic wounds specific to the older person and addresses challenges related to providing optimal management of wounds to inform evidence-based practice in wound care.

About this unit

There are more than 300,000 Australians living with dementia and with an ageing population, this number is expected to triple by 2050. To meet the increasing needs of this vulnerable population, it is essential that all healthcare professionals have a good understanding of dementia and the specialised care that a person with dementia requires.

This unit explores a range of the psychosocial, cultural, political and clinical issues that are related to the increasing prevalence of dementia, in Australia and internationally. You will examine what best practice dementia care means, and discuss the unique challenges faced by the person with dementia, their families, and relevant service providers.

About this unit

Australia’s ageing population means there is a growing need for healthcare services to respond to the holistic needs of the elderly, in a way that ensures culturally safe, person-centred care.

This unit addresses a range of legal, ethical and social issues currently faced by the aged care profession, older persons, their carers and families within the health system. You will have an opportunity to critically evaluate the rights and responsibilities of both older people and professionals, and consider relevant ethical implications and how they might be navigated.

About this unit

Many older Australians have one or more chronic illnesses, which makes care planning complex.

This unit teaches you to develop and apply your knowledge of chronic illness recognition, and how to form comprehensive care plans that take into account chronic illness management strategies, using the Geriatric Health Assessment to support complex care planning.

About this unit

Palliative and end of life care are an important part of Aged Care. The health and support needs of those who are dying are diverse and often change over time. To respond effectively to these needs, healthcare professionals must have the necessary knowledge and skills to deliver a person-centred approach to end of life care.

In this unit you will learn how to adopt a palliative approach to addressing older Australians as they near death, and supporting close family members. You will develop a comprehensive understanding of the services and interprofessional approaches to implementing care plans that optimise quality of life.

About this unit

This unit provides prospective/actual health managers with knowledge about the importance of and challenges in delivering consistently safe, reliable and good quality health care. It does this in several ways: providing case studies about events where patients were harmed during the delivery of health care to understand the impact of systems, culture and leadership on the quality and safety of health care; describing the systems, policies and processes that have been developed to implement strong clinical governance of health care organisations; and introducing the concept and process of quality improvement in health.

About this unit

This unit focuses on providing clinicians and public health practitioners with the supported experience of designing competitive and defensible research. Students will extend their skills and understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of rigorous health research to undertake an independent research project.

About this unit

In the challenging environment of the Aged Care sector, health practitioners caring for older Australians will be required to provide organisational leadership to ensure that services continue to evolve to meet changing community needs and service delivery challenges.

Such leadership requires the acquisition of knowledge and the development of capabilities in leadership to address current and future challenges, while building strong, respectful and meaningful relationships with older Australians and residents, their families and multidisciplinary staff teams.

As the capstone unit in the Master of Gerontology, this unit further develops your skills in addressing complex contemporary issues in gerontology and challenges you to critically evaluate your leadership capabilities and philosophy to prepare you to lead and advocate for improved Aged Care.

About this unit

This unit is the first part of a cumulative project, bringing together the knowledge and skills you have learned in your course so far. You will devise and implement a quality improvement project in your health context.

Themes emphasised in this unit include advocacy and leadership, intra- and inter-disciplinary practice, ethical and responsible practice, therapeutic relationships and communication, as well as clinical informatics. In this unit, you will work with a supervisor who will support you and provide formative feedback throughout your project.

About this unit

In this unit, you will carry out the project you designed in HLQ638-1 and bring It to a close with a final report.

Themes emphasised in this unit include reviewing reports, data collection and the challenges this can bring, conducting research, analysing data, reviewing findings, developing conclusions, making recommendations, and finalising your report. In this unit, you will continue to work with the supervisor.