Introduction
With the influx of geriatric care management certificate programs, both online and provided by brick-and-mortar institutions of learning, the Aging Life Care Association (ALCA) believes that uniformity of purpose is vital to develop Aging Life Care Professionals™ / Geriatric Care Managers of tomorrow.
In response to requests by many academic communities for assistance with curricula development, in 2012 ALCA’s Educational Alliances Committee began to examine the recommended core competencies set forth by the Partnership for Health in Aging (PHA). The goal was to adapt those core competencies as recommendations for academic communities that are in the process of developing Aging Life Care / geriatric care management programs.
The committee adapted the PHA recommendations by adding additional core competencies that reflect what ALCA feels are the minimal requirements of an entry-level Aging Life Care Professional / geriatric care manager. The PHA Multidisciplinary Competencies include Domains 1 – 6. The Educational Alliances Committee and ALCA approved and recommended the addition of Domains 7, 8, 9 and an Addendum for Aging Life Care Professionals / Geriatric Care Managers.
Brief History on the Partnership for Health in Aging (PHA)
The PHA was conceived by the American Geriatric Society, and established to develop a set of core competencies in the care of older adults that are relevant to and can be endorsed by all health professional disciplines.
The PHA recommendations are the result of 21 organizations representing healthcare professionals who care for older adults advocating for ways to meet the healthcare needs of the nation’s rapidly growing older population. The PHA workgroup developed six domains that a healthcare professional in the following disciplines should have, and necessary approaches they should master, by the time they complete their entry-level degree, in order to provide quality care for older adults:
- Dentistry
- Medicine
- Nursing
- Nutrition
- Occupational Therapy
- Pharmacy
- Physical Therapy
- Physician Assistants
- Psychology
- Social Work
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