Delirium
Course Overview
Brief
This Course is designed to update healthcare professionals on the syndrome of delirium in older patients. Delirium will be defined and explained, and nursing management will be discussed. Specific delirium screening tools will be presented in great details, allowing health professionals to better recognise the syndrome of delirium in older patients.
Learning Outcomes
- Define delirium and its causes
- Identify and apply delirium assessment tools
- Employ recommended principles of delirium management
Topics include:
- What is delirium?
- Epidemiology
- Differential diagnosis
- Delirium management
Target audience
All health professionals who work with older adults who may have delirium.
Purpose
Update health professionals on the syndrome of delirium, ensuring the appropriate application of prevention, assessment and management strategies to improve outcomes of care.
Need
Delirium is an acute disorder of attention and cognition that affects as many as 50% of the older population (those aged 65 years or older). Delirium is common, serious, costly, under-recognised, and frequently results in institutionalisation and death.
Delirium has been likened to a cognitive superbug penetrating all healthcare environments, spreading across acute care, residential aged care and the community.
Delirium Guidelines indicate delirium is easier to prevent than to treat and that 30—40% of delirium cases are preventable. This Course examines delirium indicators and the subsequent poor outcomes, which justifies health professionals to ask, does my older patient have delirium?
Health professionals in Australia that are registered with AHPRA are required to obtain continuing professional development (CPD) hours/points each year that relates to their context of practice, in order to comply with mandatory regulatory requirements.
