The Nursing Assistant Specialist for Elders (NASE) curriculum is a
challenging 84-hour advanced skills course to help the experienced nursing
assistant develop advanced skills in an eldercare setting. Four-hour
class sessions meet once or twice weekly to cover the curriculum.
Written clinical applications and mastery tests measure students'
performance throughout the course. The program ties learning
objectives to advanced competencies in restorative and therapeutic care.
NASE helps nursing assistants to be more effective partners on
the nursing team, develops strong role models for newer nursing assistants
and promotes job satisfaction and retention among existing workers by
investing in their professional development.
NASE focuses on geriatric caregiving as a specialty that
requires an understanding of the many physiological changes that occur
with aging. These changes increase the complexity of caring for the
elderly. The course covers prevalent chronic diseases of the
elderly, as well as the mental status changes that occur frequently with
aging.
|
Needs of the Elderly
 | Understanding Resident Needs |
| Meeting Specific Needs |
| Promoting Functional Independence |
| Skin Care |
| Bowel & Bladder Incontinence |
| Dignity with Living & Dying |
| Pain Management, Quality of Life & Care |
Cognitive
Impairment & Behavior Management
| Mental Status, Components of Cognition |
| Depression, Confusion, Delirium, Dementia, Alzheimer's Disease |
| Management Approaches: Reality Orientation, Validation Therapy |
| Common Behaviors including Causes & Solutions: Agitation,
Sundowning, Wandering Hiding & Hoarding, Catastrophic Reaction |
Major Body
Systems: Age-Related Changes, Common Chronic Illnesses & Impairments
| Integumentary System |
| Musculoskeletal System |
| Digestive System & Related Disorders |
| Circulatory System & Heart Disease |
| Nervous System & Related Disorders |
| Respiratory System & Common Diseases |
| Genitourinary & Reproductive Systems |
| Endocrine System |
| Immune System, Infection Control, HIV/AIDS |
| Cancer |
| Lymphatic System, Connective Tissue Disease, Autoimmune
Disease |
|
