The University of Utah offers the most extensive and varied programs for Professionals in Aging Services among all colleges and universities in the state of Utah . These programs include:
The Gerontology Interdisciplinary Program
1. Certificates: Both undergraduate and graduate certificates in gerontology are offered. They require require 15 credits in specifically designated core courses and electives. Certificates are fully available online.
2. Master's Degree in Gerontology. Academic Areas of Emphases include:
a
) Long-term care and Aging Services Administration
b) Geriatric Care Management
c) Lifelong Learning and Educational Gerontology
d) Research and Evaluation
The Program also conducts extensive research through federal grants that have made the program a regional and national resource for those in the aging network. The primary areas of research are family caregiving, intergenerational relationships, public policy, sustainable communities, safety and medication errors, and grief and bereavement.
For specific information regarding degree programs, admissions, course availability, schedule, descriptions and cost—select the following direct link to their web site http://www.nurs.utah.edu/gerontology or contact them at:
Gerontology Interdisciplinary Program
College of Nursing
10 S 2000 E
SLC, UT 84112-5880
801.581.8198
Geriatric Nursing Leadership Program
The College of Nursing has been awarded continuation funding of a grant to enhance nursing knowledge and skills for the care of elderly adults. The Geriatric Nursing Leadership (GNL) Program is a specialty track within the RN-BS program, and also offers a Certificate option at the baccalaureate and associate degree levels.
Highlights:
- Fully Online Curriculum
- RN to BS Degree or Certificate Option
- Enhanced Geriatric Clinical Content in Courses
- Preparation of RNs for practice in geriatric settings
- Long-term care (skilled nursing facilities, assisted living, hospice, home health)
- Acute and transitional care (acute care, rehabilitation)
- Focus on leadership skills and competencies
Every GNL applicant must be a currently licensed RN in Utah.
Both programs cover current clinical content (e.g., pain management, end of life care, prevention of falls, pressure ulcers) and leadership/management skills (e.g., human resource management, teaching, mentoring, quality improvement) based in part on the American Healthcare Association/National Center for Assisted Living Radiating Excellence Program. The coursework for both RN-BS and Certificate programs is offered online with one on-campus intensive session (approximately 2 days) each semester to accommodate work and family obligations. The goal is to recruit, nurture, and encourage nurses to choose to work or stay in a variety of geriatric health care settings and assume leadership roles.
For specific information regarding degree programs, admissions, course availability, schedule, descriptions and cost—select the following direct link to their web site http://www.nurs.utah.edu/programs/rnbs/rn_bs_ger_index.html or contact them at:
Jackie Eaton, MS, Program Manager
Geriatric Nursing Leadership Program
College of Nursing
10 S 2000 E
SLC, UT 84112-5880
801.585.7028
University of Utah Division of Geriatrics
The Division of Geriatrics is responsible for teaching and clinical care and research in Geriatrics at the University and Veterans Affairs Hospital. The Division consists of M.D. members, Ph.D. nurse investigators and Ph.D. biologic investigators, as well as fellows, postdoctoral trainees and other clinicians. The program is two-pronged, with the Division offices at the University Hospital, where outpatient clinics, cognitive disorder clinics and an inpatient service are maintained. The Division is also the academic home for the Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (GRECC) at the Salt Lake City VA Hospital. This Center maintains a large staff of over 13 M.D. and Ph.D. investigators and clinicians, and oversees the comprehensive geriatric evaluation clinic, a comprehensive interdisciplinary assessment service focusing on geriatric health maintenance and cognitive disorders. This clinic serves as the setting for the training of medical students, housestaff during regular rotations, and fellows. The GRECC also medically directs the Hospital Based Home Care Unit at the VA Hospital, as well as the Interdisciplinary Team Teaching Program. The Division offers two geriatric fellowship for physicians following internal medicine or equivalent training. These fellowships are accredited by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Fellows are offered experience in inpatient and outpatient geriatric internal medicine, as well as home care experience, and nursing home training. Outpatient clinics are also offered as an integral part of the curriculum. In addition to the above, experience in Geriatric Internal Medicine/Geropsychiatry is offered.
The Division conducts research in and offers experience in various areas of geriatric research. One important element is research to develop new automated (computerized) strategies for data gathering clinically, clinical decision and diagnostic assistance and literature analysis. Other studies focus on the concept that the phenotype of aging may be reversible. In this direction, there are University and VA Research laboratories engaged in studies of the age-associated defect of hematopoiesis, as well as cognitive function, exercise physiology, immunology and molecular biology/gene expression, as these areas pertain to aging.
For specific information regarding degree programs, admissions, course availability, schedule, descriptions and cost—select the following direct link to their web site http://www.int.med.utah.edu/geri or contact them at:
Internal Medicine
Geriatrics Division
University of Utah
SOM AB193
30 N 1900 E
SLC, UT 84132
801.581.2628
College of Social Work
The University of Utah College of Social Work’s W.D. Goodwill Initiatives on Aging was established in November, 2001 under the auspices of the Social Research Institute (SRI). As such, this aging unit has full access to the resources of SRI. The Initiatives on Aging was created to promote practice, policy, and research in aging that will help to improve the quality of life for the elderly and their families.
Practice initiatives center around the Neighbors Helping Neighbors program, which is designed to link older people in need with formal aging services and informal resources within the neighborhood by creating partnerships with various community members. Training opportunities include practicum placements for BSW, and Gerontology students with the Neighbors Helping Neighbors program in collaboration with other local agencies that serve the elderly. Other efforts the Initiatives on Aging is involved with in the community include the following: hosting support groups/workshops for grandparents raising grandchildren; collaborating with state and local entities to create a statewide caregiver coalition to serve family members who provide long-term care to needy elders; consulting with the University of Utah Elder Care Project, which is an elder care information and referral service; and representation on Project C.A.R.E. (Community Action to Reach the Elderly) coalition, which is part of a national campaign to prevent older persons from suffering the severe limitations of isolation and dependence that comes from the loss of self-sufficiency.
Policy issues being addressed focus on Medicaid funding, community long-term care, end-of-life care, elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, Medicare prescription drug coverage, caregiver support, health care, mental health care parity, and grandparents raising grandchildren. Other opportunities for involvement in aging-related policy issues are forthcoming.
Current research initiatives include a study of cultural differences in access to cancer treatments, the impact of aging on cancer screening and treatment, depression in the frail elderly, quality of life and long-term care for elderly adults in alternative placements to nursing homes, disability issues, and an examination of adult relationships in later life.
For specific information regarding degree programs, admissions, course availability, schedule, descriptions and cost—select the following direct link to their web site http://www.socwk.utah.edu/aging or contact them at:
University of Utah
College of Social Work
395 South 1500 East, Room 207
Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0260
801.585.9505
Other University Aging-Specific Courses Include:
College of Law http://www.law.utah.edu
7080 - Elder Law
This course introduces students to the broad range of legal and policy issues and options affecting older persons. Topics covered include aging in America, special ethical issues when representing the elderly, age discrimination, public and private retirement plans, planning for incapacity, elder abuse, health care, housing, and end of life issues. Students must perform at least ? day of volunteer community service for the elderly. Evaluation of student performance is based on class participation, a drafting assignment, and a paper or project. Students may also elect to participate in a clinical program.
7952 - Clinic - Elder Law
The Elder Law Clinic introduces students to current legal and policy issues and options affecting older persons. Students may work at Senior Lawyer Volunteer Project at Utah Legal Services or in other settings in which the issues facing the elderly arise. The Elder Law Course provides a forum for students to share their experiences and explore these issues in greater depth.
7055 - Employment Discrimination
In this course, we will study the federal laws prohibiting employers from discriminating against workers on the basis of certain characteristics, including race, color, gender, religion, age, national origin and disability. Employers may, however, and routinely do, discriminate between workers on the basis of other, non-protected characteristics for both good and bad reasons. An important goal of the course will be to understand how the law distinguishes between permissible and impermissible reasons for treating workers differently.
7768 - Public Health Law
This course covers four components: the patient ( rights, duties, entitlements); the relationship between the health care professional and the patient; the relationship between the patient/physician and the hospital/nursing home (i.e., heath care institutional law); and the health care system and government regulation (Medicare, etc.).
7360 - Health Law
7361 - Clinic - Health Law
The Health Law Clinic introduces students to current issues in medical care and treatment, including how to assure the quality of care and how to make medical care broadly available. Students work in a wide variety of settings in which the issues of quality and access arise. The co-requisite Health Law Course provides a forum for students to share their experiences and explore these issues in greater depth.
7763 - ERISA: Pensions & Benefits
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) is the federal statute that regulates both employer provided pensions and employee welfare plans (health benefits). As questions are increasingly being pressed about the solvency of the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation as well as health plans, it is important to understand how ERISA works and what about it might need to be changed. This course will be both a "nuts and bolts" examination of ERISA and a discussion of current policy concerns about pensions and health benefits. The requirements will be class participation and a final paper.
7290 - Disability Law
Introduction to the rights of individuals with disabilities, with an emphasis on issues of nondiscrimination. The course will focus primarily on the Americans with Disabilities Act, but we will also address topics arising under other disability rights statutes, such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Fair Housing Amendments Act. We will consider application of these statutes to a wide range of public and private settings, including public accommodations, education, institutionalization, and transportation. Throughout, attention will be paid to the history of discrimination against U.S. citizens with disabilities.
7952 - Clinic - Disability Law
The Disability Law Clinic permits students to augment their study in the Disability Law class with work on cases at the Disability Law Center. The Disability Law Center is the state-wide protection advocacy agency funded to represent persons with disabilities in legal cases relating to their disability. Case Work may include public benefits for persons with disability, access, civil rights and educational rights.
7602 - Estate Planning
This course will explore the tax and non-tax issues involved in planning estates for individuals of different financial and personal circumstances. Students will receive a thorough grounding in the tax concepts that pertain to the transfer of wealth both during life and at death. Students also will have the opportunity to conduct a client interview and complete planning/drafting projects during the semester.
Family and Consumer Studies http://www.fcs.utah.edu
FCS 5390-Gender and Minorities Across the Lifespan (3)
The primary objective of this class is to analyze the distinctive ways women and minorities experience major life events across the lifespan. The course has three sections: 1) child development as related to gender socialization and racial identity; 2) adolescence and its connection with teen pregnancy, racial attitudes among minority youths, and biculturalism and acculturation among minority adolescents; and 3) adult development and aging among women and elderly of color. Literatures are drawn from psychology, sociology, gender studies, race relations, and ethnic studies. Same as: ETHNC 5290, WM ST 5390. Fulfills Diversity Requirement
FCS 5240-Adult Development & Family Relationships in Later Life (3)
This course examines issues related to adult development, intergenerational relationships, grand parenting, and family care giving in middle and later life.
Psychology http://www.psych.utah.edu
Psychology 3230-Adult Development and Aging (3) Prerequisite: PSYCH 1010 and 3000 and 3010.
Cognitive, social, physical and personality development during young, middle, and late adulthood from a life-span perspective. Emphasizes research, theory, and application.
