GEORGIA BAPTIST COLLEGE OF NURSING
OF MERCER UNIVERSITY
NUR 307: Care of the Older Adult
Learning Objectives, Chapter 1: Seeing Older Adults Through the Eyes of Wellness
Upon completion of this lesson, the student will:
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Describe the relationship between aging and wellness.
Identify barriers to and opportunities for nurses to promote wellness in older adults.
Define aging from several perspectives.
Recognize the effects of ageism and attitudes about aging.
Identify myths that affect nursing care of older adults.
Describe demographic, health, and socioeconomic characteristics of older adults.
Describe housing options for older adults.
Learning Objectives, Chapter 2: Addressing Diversity of Older Adults
Upon completion of this lesson, the student will:
1. Discuss the importance of providing linguistically and culturally competent care for
older adults.
2. Describe three major health belief systems that influence cultural perspectives on
health and wellness.
3. Describe health disparities that affect older adults of different cultural groups.
4. Identify sources of information that nurses can use to improve their cultural
competence.
5. Describe characteristics of the cultural groups of older adults in the United States.
Learning Objectives, Chapter 3: Applying a Nursing Model for Promoting Wellness in
Older Adults
Upon completion of this lesson, the student will:
1. Describe the Functional Consequences Theory and it’s purpose in planning care for
older adults.
2. Define concepts of age-related changes, risk factors, and functional consequences
as they relate to nursing care of older adults.
3. Describe benefits of using the Functional Consequences Theory in care planning for
older adults.
4. List common sources of risk factors that lead to vulnerabilities in older adults.
5. Describe the meaning of wellness outcomes.
Learning Objectives, Chapter 4: Theoretical Perspectives on Aging Well
Upon completion of this lesson, the student will:
1. Describe theoretical perspectives on the relationships among aging, disease, health,
and quality of life.
2. Discuss pertinent concepts from the theories of aging (i.e., biologic, sociocultural,
holistic, psychological) and their relevance to nursing care of older adults.
3. Explain how living long differs from living well.
4. Describe the term ‘healthspan’.
5. Compare and contrast ‘life span’ and ‘life expectancy’.
6. Describe the meaning of ‘compression of morbidity’ in older adulthood.
7. What is the meaning of cellular senescence?
8. Define apoptosis.
Required Readings:
Miller, C. A. (2023). Nursing for wellness in older adults + Coursepoint Plus(9th ed., Wolters
Kluwer.