Dementia care education

The University of Tasmania is taking its Associate Degree in Dementia on the road and can now offer it to aged care workers in Adelaide, Canberra and Newcastle in addition to those in Tasmania and Sydney.

By Natasha Egan

Aged care workers in Adelaide, Canberra and Newcastle can join their Tasmanian and Sydney colleagues by undertaking an dementia care degree as the University of Tasmania takes its groundbreaking course on the road.

The Associate Degree in Dementia Care aims to increase understanding of dementia and relate it to the best approach to providing care. 

There is also a HECS scholarship available for students whose workplace is a member of Aged and Community Services Association (ACSA).

Course coordinator Dr Andrea Carr said the the new locations have been added in time for the July intake due to the course’s popularity and follow a successful first year of the degree at UTAS’s Tasmanian and Sydney campuses.

“The level of interest in the course is increasing, and this is perhaps due to a growing awareness of the need to invest in educating our carers,” said Dr Carr from UTAS’s Wicking Dementia Education and Research Centre and School of Medicine.

“The design of the course acknowledges the lifestyles of many of our students who are juggling work which often involves shifts, family commitments as well as their desire to study.

“Our staff have a strong student focus and a desire to support their students through the successful completion of the course.”

It is a part-time course that will typically take two-and-a-half years to complete if students take on two units per semester.

The degree is also designed to suit rural students as it is primarily delivered online with a face-to-face requirement of four or five days a semester for the first two semesters.

For the face-to-face component students need to be within commuting distance of a UTAS campus or training venue in Tasmania, Sydney, Adelaide, Newcastle or Canberra.

Students are expected to commit about 12 hours a week and there are no final exams.

A student’s perspective

Today is the last day of the second semester for Wendy Smith, an EEN in a high care dementia ward at UnitingCare Ageing Nambucca Heads on the New South Wales mid-north coast. 

“The course is amazing. It really allows you to understand why some residents develop the behaviours they do and the triggers for those behaviours,” Ms Smith said.

“When you have a better understanding of the anatomy and physiology of dementia, it allows you to better manage your clients and give them a better quality of living.”

Ms Smith has a six-hour commute by car to the Sydney campus, but she’s only had to do it about six times in two semesters. The commute is worth it because the course is so useful and it’s also an opportunity to network with fellow students, she said. 

Ms Smith said she highly recommended this course to anyone working in aged care.

“It gives you such a broader scope of knowledge with residents you can put into practice everyday.

“It also enhances your compassion for people in aged care because when you understand why it happens, you can have a better understanding of the individual.” 

Ms Smith said the biggest challenge for her has been with getting organised with the demands of study coupled with a full-time job.

“There’s lots of reading. It is pretty full-on, but it’s manageable,” she said.

“You must be organised.”

While it can be a lot of work, it’s presented in a manner that’s easy to learn, the lecturers take you through all the tools you’ll need to stay organised and succeed and there’s a lot of support from the university, she said.

Ms Smith also wants to recommend this course to every organisation involved in aged care. 

“Support your employees and support them through this degree because it’s going to be absolutely invaluable to you in the future as dementia becomes more prevalent.” 

Dr Carr has spent this week presenting information sessions in New South Wales and Canberra outlining the benefits of the course, the support available and its suitability for carers living in rural areas.

A final information session is scheduled for Wednesday 5 June in Adelaide. (Details below)

For more information about the course see: Associate Degree in Dementia Care

Adelaide information session details
Wednesday 5 June (1.00pm – 2.30pm & 6.00pm – 7.00pm) 
Drop-in session between 2.30 and 6.00 
The Heysen Room, Chifley Hotel, 226 South Terrace, Adelaide, SA
RSVP email to: AssocDem.DegCare@utas.edu.au

Dementia care leadership diploma

Elsewhere in dementia care education, registered training organisation (RTO) McCarthy Training has developed a diploma course for people interested in becoming leaders in the area of dementia care.

McCarthy Training RTO Manager Anne Connor said they have created the Diploma of Dementia Care Leadership because they saw an industry need.

“We surveyed the sector quite heavily about what would be helpful and we received an overwhelming yes that a diploma is something that management and staff would need.”

Students will learn to ensure team effectiveness and to lead staff in maintaining professional practice in a dementia care workplace, she said.

The diploma will take one year to complete full-time or two years part-time.

It will involve intensive face-to-face lessons plus online training.

“A lot of the work will be project work done in their facility,” Ms Connor said.

The diploma course has already been approved for delivery in Melbourne and McCarthy Training is applying for national approval with the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), Ms Connor said. 

Classes will begin in early 2014. 

For more information, see: Diploma of Dementia Care Leadership

Tags: associate-degree-dementia-care, dementia-care-education, diploma-dementia-care-leadership, mccarthy-training, utas,

1 thought on “Dementia care education

  1. How many points are each of your units worth?

    How many hours of study would be average for the associate degree?

    Is this study between a diploma and grad certificate level?

    thanks

    Judy

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