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Nature of course request C00867 :

New course

Undergraduate

First term offered : Winter 2013
Course Prefix&Number	Descriptive Title	Credits/Hours
PSY 420	Advanced Topics in Geropsychology	4 - 4

Abbreviation for Class Schedule(20 spaces) Adv Topics Geropsych

Catalog Description: Each time this course is offered a single special topic in geropsychology or gerontology will be studied in-depth. Topics may include diseases of older adulthood, applied applications of gerontology, social aspects of aging, long-term care issues, regulatory issues, brain health, or the effects of positive lifestyles on the aging process. May be repeated under different subtitles. Prerequisite: Psy 201 and 311 or equivalent.

Course Goal and Objectives: The goal of the course is to provide advanced training to students related to the theories and practices in the interdisciplinary field of geropsychology. Students will learn about the relationships between psychological, physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and social aspects of older adults¿ lives. In addition, select topics related to living environments, retirement, social support, family relationships, regulatory issues, brain health, lifestyle factors, and diseases of older adulthood may be covered. This course will provide more advanced training after more basic courses provide a slid foundation in geropsychology and gerontology. Course Objectives ¿ Understand specific geropsychology topics in greater detail and in ways that can be applied in real-world settings ¿ Understand how to view topics of aging in an interdisciplinary manner (i.e., psychological, sociological, economic, cognitive, and medical perspectives). ¿ Better understand how to help older adults maximize quality of life through interventions that might involve therapist, care givers, family, long term care workers, and governmental agencies

Justification for adding the course (e.g. alignment with other institutions, program revision, etc.): This course is needed for several reasons. First, it will give Psychology Majors an option for an advanced course related to geropsychology (we have an introduction to geropsychology course now). Second, this course will allow advanced topics to be taught by our regular faculty or the qualified professional who works in the industry to provide pertinent and timely educational opportunities. This course will serve the new Geropsychology Minor and the newly proposed Gerontology Major. Given that many of our graduates will work with older adult populations it is imperative that we expand our offerings and fill this hole in our program¿s offerings. Moreover, given the expected growth in our older adult population, we need to offer courses that will help train students to work with older adults. According the U.S. Department of Labor, employment in home health care services are expected to increase 69.5% between 2004 and 2014, during the same time period, community care services for the elderly are expected to see a 54.8% increase in the need for qualified employees. People from a broad range of career fields who have received training in geropsychology will be more marketable and provide important services for our community. The aging population is driving much of the increased need in the medical field. An understanding of geropsychology will help people who go into the following professions: medical assistants (52.1% increase expected between 2004 and 2014) physical therapists (36.7%), physical therapy assistants (44.2%), occupational therapists (33.6%), occupational therapy assistants (34.1%), as well as nurses and many other human service careers.

Faculty and facilities needed: No new faculty or facilities are required, however we may hire a non-tenure track (NTT) faculty member with specialized expertise to teach this advanced topics course. We also will need to hire NTT faculty to replace a course that one of our tenured/tenured track faculty can¿t teach if they teach this course. We anticipate needing at least one new tenure track and some NTT FTE to cover the new Gerontology Major.

Brief Course outline: The nature of this course is such that it will never be the same twice as it an advanced topics course. The content will be based on emerging trends and needs that students entering the work force need to know about. Moreover, the content may be based on the expert¿s knowledge and specialty. With that stated, here are some general areas that would be appropriate. 1. Demographics and epidemiology of older adults 2. Living environments 3. The continuum of care (from independent living through skilled nursing and memory care) 4. Physiology of aging 5. Behavioral changes and aging 6. Cognitive changes and aging 7. Social support and aging 8. Family relationships and aging 9. Retirement 10. Diseases of older adulthood

Approval Queue C00867

Attached Files: