Lesson 1Cognitive screening tools: MMSE, MoCA, Mini-Cog — administration and interpretationOffers hands-on advice on using MMSE, MoCA, and Mini-Cog for cognitive checks, covering preparation, proper administration, scoring, cultural and education factors, and sharing results with patients and families.
Preparing the environment for testingStandardized MMSE administration and scoringMoCA domains and cutoff interpretationMini-Cog clock drawing and recall stepsCommunicating cognitive results sensitivelyLesson 2Advance care values and life goals elicitation: goal-based questions, spiritual and cultural preference probesTeaches how to draw out advance care values and life goals using goal-focused questions and probes for spiritual or cultural preferences, recording them, and weaving into care plans and joint decision talks.
Introducing values and goals conversationsExploring hopes, fears, and trade-offsSpiritual and cultural preference probesDocumenting preferences and proxiesRevisiting goals as health status changesLesson 3Social network and loneliness assessment tools: UCLA Loneliness Scale (short), social network mappingShows how to assess social networks and loneliness with the short UCLA Loneliness Scale and mapping, looking at support quality, isolation dangers, and ways to build strong connections.
Exploring living situation and supportsAdministering the short UCLA scaleCreating a visual social network mapIdentifying isolation and caregiver strainPlanning social and community interventionsLesson 4Functional mobility and falls screening: Timed Up and Go, 30-second sit-to-stand, gait and balance observationCovers checking mobility and fall risks with Timed Up and Go, 30-second sit-to-stand, and watching gait and balance, including safety steps, scoring, and connecting to fall prevention.
Key fall risk factors in older adultsAdministering the Timed Up and Go test30-second sit-to-stand protocol and normsObserving gait, posture, and balanceTranslating findings into fall preventionLesson 5Home safety and environmental assessment checklist: stairs, lighting, rugs, bathroom hazardsDetails home safety checks focusing on stairs, lighting, rugs, bathroom risks, and aids, prioritising changes to cut falls and keep independence.
Preparing for a home safety walkthroughAssessing stairs, railings, and entrancesEvaluating lighting, cords, and loose rugsIdentifying bathroom and toileting hazardsRecommending aids and home modificationsLesson 6Nutrition and weight loss screening: MNA-SF, simple dietary recall, identifying red flagsTrains on nutrition and weight loss checks using MNA-SF and basic diet recall, spotting warnings like unplanned weight drop, swallowing issues, appetite shifts, and planning referrals.
Risk factors for malnutrition in agingAdministering and scoring the MNA-SFConducting a brief dietary recall interviewIdentifying red flags and urgent concernsCoordinating dietitian and medical referralsLesson 7Mood and anxiety screening in older adults: GDS-5/15, PHQ-2/9, GAD-7Handles mood and anxiety checks for elders using GDS-5/15, PHQ-2/9, GAD-7, with tips on when to use, administration, reading scores, suicide follow-up, and clear empathetic talks.
Recognizing mood and anxiety red flagsAdministering GDS-5 and GDS-15Using PHQ-2 and PHQ-9 stepwiseScreening with GAD-7 for anxietyResponding to positive or high-risk screensLesson 8Principles of person-centered gerontological assessmentIntroduces key principles of person-centred assessment for elders, stressing respect, self-rule, joint decisions, cultural humility, trauma-aware talk, and family views without sidelining the elder.
Building rapport and psychological safetySupporting autonomy and shared decisionsCultural and spiritual humility in assessmentTrauma-informed questioning and pacingBalancing family input with patient voiceLesson 9Pain assessment in older adults: numeric scales, PAINAD, multi-dimensional pain historyExplains pain checks for elders using number scales, PAINAD, full history, tackling talk barriers, ongoing vs sudden pain, and records for safe personal pain plans.
Choosing and explaining numeric rating scalesUsing PAINAD in advanced dementiaCharacter, onset, location, duration, intensityImpact of pain on sleep, mood, and functionDocumenting pain findings for the care teamLesson 10Structured history elements: medical, medications, pain, sleep, nutrition, ADLs/IADLsLooks at structured person-centred history in elder care, covering health issues, meds, pain, sleep, food, daily tasks, with talk that honours self-rule, culture, thinking limits.
Organizing the initial geriatric interviewEliciting past medical and surgical historySystematic medication and supplement reviewAssessing sleep quality and common disturbancesExploring ADLs and IADLs with concrete examples
