Challenging Dementia: Preparing the Workforce

1. Challenging Dementia:Preparing the Workforce Teresa Moore – Senior Lecturer in Mental Health Claire Brewis – Principal Lecturer in Occupational Therapy April 2014

2. Approach taken across the School of Health & Social Care: • Some graduates will be working directly with people where dementia is the presenting problem • All graduates will be working with people who have other presenting problems but may also have dementia

3. The future workforce must be prepared for both scenarios, which forms the basis of learning

5. Dementia Education for Pre-Reg Nursing Students • PROGRAMME AIM: • Developing nurses who are able to meet the fundamental nursing needs for people across all fields of nursing practice and across the age continuum, and the more complex and co-existing needs of people from their own field of nursing practice. • Students from Adult, Mental Health & Learning Disabilities will spend time in placement allocations where they are likely to care for people with dementia. Children’s Nursing students may meet people with dementia when working with families.

8. Continuing Education in Dementia • Negotiated Learning Module: Improving Practice • Contemporary Practice in Dementia Care: Diploma level: non-registered healthcare professionals • Enhancing Contemporary Practice in Dementia Care: Degree Level for Registered Nurses • Promoting the Mental Health and Wellbeing of Patients with Dementia in the Acute Hospital Environment: Registered & non-registered healthcare workers

9. Preparation within the BSc (Hons) and MSc Occupational Therapy programmes Underpinned by the requirements of professional, regulatory and statutory bodies and have regular input from practice colleagues to influence curriculum content

10. Begin with promoting an understanding of self-awareness – what values and attitudes do individual students hold as future therapists? Communication skills (inter-personal / group / team working)

13. Specific to occupational practice and dementia: -Assessment of daily living and standardised assessment e.g. LACLS -Treatment interventions e.g. working on memory and maintaining a sense of who one is (reminiscence, memory boxes, maintaining activities) -Interventions in the home e.g. tele-care Against a backdrop of the person becoming cared for in a different way and becoming less verbal.

14. The importance of learning and teaching taking place in both the University and practice placements – practice is the place where they can apply skills and theory and learn new and developing specialist skills from practice educators.