Age Specific Competencies
Understanding Age Specific Competencies for the Healthcare Sector
For people to receive the best healthcare possible, it is essential that medical professionals consider age specific competencies. Because every person is unique and people are grouped by age, body type, and demographics, trying a cookie-cutter approach for proper healthcare is simply acceptable. With so many variances in treating people, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations or JCAHO has defined and implemented standards specific to age specific competencies as a means of securing accreditation.
As a part of this, detailed information is provided about the various stages of growth that people go through, as well as strategies for providing the right type and degree of healthcare for each of those stages. As a part of this endeavor, lessons also cover potential learning abilities, physical impairments, and emotional stresses, differences in cultures, and even language barriers that are seen across the board.
Today, a number of excellent publications are being offered that cover everything a healthcare provider should know about age specific competencies. These publications are not just for doctors and nurses, but literally anyone who deals with patients at any level. Through the information provided, these professionals would learn about different types of challenges, as well as methods for developing and implementing them. However, the publications also provide a number of quizzes whereby medical personnel would be able to determine their current level of care and beliefs about healthcare so job performance could be improved upon.
The official publication from JCAHO about age specific competencies offers detailed information for a variety of areas. The following are just a few examples of what the information would cover.
- Because people grow and develop at different rates, it is imperative to understand ways in which these differences helps healthcare professionals develop objective predictions about a person’s response to illness, pain, changes in body, and even hospitalization.
- Details about what age specific competencies encompass, as well as skills needed to provide each patient with appropriate care according to a patient’s illness but also likes, dislikes, concerns, feelings, beliefs, and thoughts.
- Benefits about age specific competencies to ensure every patient is provided with the type and level of healthcare deserved, thereby allowing the patient to become a partner in the overall healthcare plan.
- Reasons that age specific competencies are a vital focus for JCAHO and its standards specific to gaining but also retaining accreditation.
- Overview of development changes throughout life physically, mentally, and behaviorally.
- Information about infants and toddlers such as illnesses and high levels of stress created for caregivers, whether parents, grandparents, babysitters, or someone else. Covered would be wellness and safety issues to ensure that young patients are provided with proper healthcare during physical and psychosocial development phases.
- For children from birth to one year of age, growth occurs quickly specific to the size of the brain and weight. With so many social, emotional, and physical changes, healthcare providers need to understand very specific age specific competencies for children within this age group.
- Adverse reactions to infant hospitalization are also covered for age specific competencies so that healthcare providers would be able to recognize stresses to better prepare the child. Information for this area also covers sleep disturbances, delays in motor development separation anxiety, and the importance of touch.
Publications for age specific competencies cover so much more but this provides a good overview of topics included. The bottom line is identifying areas that need improvement and teaching healthcare providers methods for ensure that patients of all levels get the care needed and wanted.