Elements and Performance Criteria
- Address the health care needs of the older adult in the Australian health care environment
- Work with an understanding of the physical and psychological effects of aging on the human body
- Work with an understanding of the significance of physical and psychosocial assessment in evaluating the health of older clients
- Apply an understanding of funding arrangements for aged care and extended care environment
- Address documentation requirements to assist the funding that impacts on aged care provision
- Recognise crisis situations and implement emergency management as required
- Provide a physically and psychologically safe environment for the older client
- Communicate effectively with older person experiencing sensory loss
- Assess health care needs of older clients
- Perform a holistic assessment of the client in consultation/collaboration with the registered nurse
- Incorporate an in-depth understanding of anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology into nursing practice as applied to the various manifestations of the ageing process and clinical manifestations of ageing
- Discuss with the client the physical and psychosocial impact of ageing on their activities of daily living
- Identify common problems and complications the client may encounter
- Communicate effectively with clients, family and health team members
- Contribute to planning appropriate care for the older client
- Use contemporary assessment tools accurately
- Establish a database of resource personnel to assist in decision making for the older client
- Use a problem-solving framework to plan appropriate nursing management strategies in consultation/collaboration with the registered nurse
- Develop an individualised plan of care for the older client in consultation/collaboration with the client and the health care team
- Ensure care plan reflects client's current nursing needs and nursing actions designed to maximise the older client's function and minimise potential complications
- Apply an understanding of risk management principles in planning client care
- Ensure planned care and therapeutic interventions aim to assist client/s to achieve optimal health outcomes
- Regularly review plan of care and modify to reflect changes in condition of older client
- Identify aged care client needs requiring research to improve nursing practice
- Implement evidence based practice to care of older clients
- Assist to perform clinical nursing skills appropriate to the management of the older client
- Prioritise nursing interventions according to client needs
- Modify nursing interventions using critical thinking and problem solving approaches, to reflect changes in client's condition
- Update nursing interventions to assist client, and identified significant others to meet expected outcomes, including health promotion and/or education
- Monitor nursing interventions, review those that fail to address client needs and revise in consultation/collaboration with health care team
- Ensure appropriate pre-, intra- and post-diagnostic procedures are undertaken in line with organisation policies and procedures
- Ensure medication administration is based on sound knowledge of principles of drug actions and side effects in accordance with health unit policies and procedures
- Ensure rehabilitation principles underpin appropriate nursing interventions for the older client as required
- Assess the needs of clients experiencing loss and grief
- Work with an understanding of the effects of grief on the physical, emotional, cognitive, behavioural, social and spiritual domains of a person's experience
- Review client knowledge of their condition, self management and therapies
- Recognise determinants impacting or potentially impacting on the client's experience of grief and on identified significant other/s
- Recognise the potential or actual manifestation of a complicated grief reaction
- Review the significant other's knowledge of the client's condition, management and therapies
- Use counselling skills to encourage clients and/or significant other/s to verbalise grief experience
- Support client and/or significant others experiencing loss and grief
- Use effective communication skills to break adverse news or assist a health care team member to break adverse news to a client and/or significant other/s
- Provide support for peers and colleagues