Graduate Certificate in Gerontology (GC-GERON)

This course examines the complex and growing challenges of an ageing worldwide population. The Graduate Certificate provides specialised knowledge and skills to understand ageing as a social, physical and psychological experience within the context of national policies and models of health and community care. The disciplines of population health, nursing, physiotherapy, social work, psychology, demography, architecture and design, technology, computing and information systems and economics contribute to the course.

Students have the opportunity to select interest areas from a range of subjects focused on ageing and its implications, in diverse settings and contexts, including health care, workforce, housing, economic and social policy and technological advances supporting healthy ageing and aged care. The course provides a specialised focus on gerontology for clinicians, health care managers, social and community care providers and policy makers.

There is also a specialist nursing stream for the nursing workforce from inpatient settings such as aged care and hospitals, where age-related issues are contributing factors to presentations and specialist nursing knowledge in assessment and management is required. Specialised nursing care is also essential in community settings including primary care and home-based services. This stream is comprised of two compulsory nursing subjects – Applied Pathophysiology and Health Assessment for Advanced Practice 1; along with two matched compulsory gerontology subjects – Body of Ageing and Mental Health and Ageing.

The compulsory subject, NURS90067 Health Assessment for Advanced Practice 1, in this course requires the support of a clinical supervisor/s in the student’s practice environment.  Students who are unable to meet this requirement must enrol in the standard pathway rather than the Gerontology Nursing specialisation.