The University of Canberra in collaboration with Curtin University, Edith Cowan University and the University of Wollongong, developed CPOP to boost the capacity of Australia’s professional nursing workforce to care for older people. With high demand for nurses across all aspects of the healthcare sector, offering students a challenging and rewarding experience in an aged care setting was the driving force behind the new program, led by UC’s Professor of Gerontological Nursing, Dr Kasia Bail.
Introducing Clinical Placements with Older People (CPOP).
The University of Canberra in collaboration with Curtin University, Edith Cowan University and the University of Wollongong are working together to boost our professional nursing workforce to care for older people.
More now than ever, there’s a need for high-quality clinical placements in aged care and related settings.
Together we can connect nursing students with the experience and expertise to help make a difference in the lives of older Australians.
The CPOP program, which is part of the Aged Care Nursing Clinical Placements Program, is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.
You can't be what you can't see. Using a structured clinical placement program to attract registered nurses to aged care.
This webinar was hosted by Australian Association of Gerontology and is presented by Professor Kasia Bail and Professor Tracey Moroney OAM.
Nursing students
This program is open to Bachelor or Master of Nursing students.
Get clinical experience in places where older people receive complex nursing care and discover a career full of opportunities.
Register your interest below and we'll be in touch with more information.
Aged and health care providers
Inspire the next generation of nurses with supported clinical placements in aged and health care settings.
You can help by hosting Nursing Clinical Placements with Older People, please register your interest below.
Clinical facilitators
Are you a Registered Nurse interested in supporting students on placements in aged and health care settings? We need your help.
Register your interest below to become a clinical facilitator for students and help empower the next generation of nurses in aged and health care settings.
Gerontology registered nurses are recognised as health professionals who lead and provide evidence based clinical care that is personalised to the older individuals health needs, consistent with the professional standards “Registered nurse (RN) practice is person-centred and evidence-based with preventative, curative, formative, supportive, restorative and palliative elements. RNs work in therapeutic and professional relationships with individuals, as well as with families, groups and communities”.
Read more:
- Nursing Midwivery Board - Registered nurse standards for practice
- Health.gov.au - Nurses and Midwives
Gerontological nurses demonstrate specialised skills, knowledge and attitude in their field, particularly related to:
- Comprehensive physical and psycho-social-spiritual assessment of the older person
- Health professional multidisciplinary team leadership and liaison
- Complex medical treatment interventions, comorbidity management, holistic prioritisation, quality of life maximisation
- Team management, leadership, healthy work environment creation
- Pain and symptom prevention, planning, assessment, intervention, evaluation
- Delirium prevention, planning, assessment, intervention, evaluation
- Behaviour support plans and other approaches to Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD)
- Knowledge and skills in physiological and pharmacodynamic changes in older people
- Promotion of non-pharmacological first-line interventions
- Advance care planning, palliative care, end of life care delivery
- Wound care and pressure injury prevention, planning, assessment, intervention, evaluation
- Knowledge and application of ‘dignity of risk’ principles, skilled in assessing and discussing approaches to risk and choice, application of ethical and legal principles
- Appropriate escalation and referral of care, provision of life saving interventions
- Family and loved ones liaison
The CPOP program supports the recognition and pipeline of gerontological nursing.
Links to related media and publications by the team that may aid understanding of gerontological nursing in advances in Australia research and practice:
- $2.1 million commonwealth tender to boost nursing workforce in aged care
- UC and partners secure $2.1 million to bolster aged care nursing workforce
- Join in developing a new wave of nurse graduates
- Nursing students love working with older people - but have mixed feeling about working in aged care
- Measuring gerontological nursing competencies among aged care nurses: Cultural adaptation and psychometric validation
- Making aged care nursing sexy – special interest group for gerontological nurses launched
- UC and UoW Collaboration forms new alliance for nurses dedicated to the care of older people
- New gerontology framework to ensure skills for nurses
- Curtin Uni – Tracey Moroney, OAM
- Curtin Uni – Tracey Moroney, a nurse first and foremost
- Resilience – is it time for a rethink?
- Exploring the contribution of clinical placement to student learning: A sequential mixed methods study
- Clinical supervision: A mechanism to support person-centred practice? An integrative review of the literature
- Council of Deans of Nursing and Midwifery – Executive Committee (Karen Strickland and Tracey Moroney)
- Future is bright – nursing in the age of a pandemic
- Council of Deans of Nursing and Midwifery – national apology
- Gerontological Alliance of Nurses Australia
- ECU Centre for Research in Aged Care
- Centre for Ageing Research and Translation (CARAT)
- UoW Aged Dementia Health Education & Research Centre
- ADHERE videos (delirium, gerontological nursing competencies, dementia and driving, goal attainment scale, Gerontological Alliance of Nurses Australia webinars, dementia knowledge art research and education DARE)
We acknowledge Traditional Owners of Country across Australia and the many different lands on which we work and live. We pay our deepest respects to Elders past and present, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and cultures.
Contact us
Clinical Placements with Older People
Ageing Research Group
University of Canberra
