Concepts for Practice

Characteristics of Caring and person-centred practice

• Caring as a moral ideal: What is caring?
• Caring in a health care context.
• Values and beliefs about care and caring.
• Promoting the dignity and worth of self and others.
• Self-building and self-caring as the basis of becoming a effective care provider
• Caring and power: Power positions vs. relational positions with others.
• Independence, dependence and interdependence and self-esteem.
• Promoting self-determination.
• Promoting quality of life – who defines it and who decides what it means to each person.
• Social and Community models of care.
• Supporting personal preferences and choices.
• Recreation/socialization and quality of life.
• Preventing isolation and unnecessary dependence.
• Living at risk – what it is and why it is an option – the right to self-determination and choice.

Basic Human Needs

• Hierarchy of needs
• Interrelationship of needs.
• Factors that affect needs and the meeting of needs in older adults.
• Needs assessment    

Human Development

• Principles of human development
• Common developmental tasks and characteristics, infancy through middle adulthood
• Developmental characteristics, tasks and changes in the older adult:
  • Physical changes
  • Psycho-social tasks and challenges
  • Loss as part of aging
  • Diversity in older adults
  • Factors influencing aging

Family in Health and Healing

• Family development.
• Diverse family units.
• Changing family structures.
• Socio-cultural, religious, environmental and economic influences of the family.
• The role of family in health and healing: coping and adapting.
• Understanding stresses on family care providers.
• Families experiencing conflict or other dysfunction.
• Supporting the family.

Cultural influences on aging and health; culturally sensitive care.

Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving

• Critical thinking as a caring concept
• Relationship between critical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making.
• Components of effective problem-solving/decision-making.
• Problem-solving in relation to time management.
• Care planning as a problem-solving process.
• Steps in the care planning / problem-solving process.
• Care planning process in facilities.
• Care planning process in community settings.
• Role of HCA in planning care.
• Reporting and recording – common practices in community and facility settings.

Protection and Safety in Health and Healing

• Factors affecting the need for protection and safety (health, age, lifestyle, health challenges)
• Realities and challenges
• Promoting and maintaining safe environments
• Roles and parameters of practice in relation to safety
• Risk management – definitions and approaches
• Safety plans – purpose, role, factors influencing safety planning
• Living at risk issues : respecting the client/residents’ choice to live at risk; informed choice

Critical incidents:

• recognizing critical incidents
• recognizing situations where critical incident debriefing is warranted