Course Overview

Delirium is a serious medical condition producing sudden and often severe changes in a person’s mental function. A person typically has difficulty thinking clearly, maintaining focus or attention, and may appear confused or disorientated. Delirium needs to be recognised early and managed promptly.

About this Course

In this course, you will learn how to recognise, prevent and manage the symptoms of delirium within residential and community-based aged care. Additionally, the course examines how to recognise the differences between delirium, depression and dementia, and how they may co-exist in individuals. This course is suitable for Registered Nurses, Enrolled Nurses, allied health professionals/assistants and personal care workers in residential and community-based aged care settings.

This course is comprised of three modules:

• Module 1: Delirium: The Basics
• Module 2: Recognising and Responding to Delirium
• Module 3: Prevention

Module Overview

Module 1: Delirium: The Basics
This module will help you understand: what delirium is, how to recognise and respond to it, and how to prevent it. You will also learn about the differences between delirium and dementia, and what delirium means for a person living with dementia.

Module 2: Recognising and Responding to Delirium
This module will help you understand how to recognise and respond to delirium within residential and community-based aged care and how to implement a holistic management plan by taking an interdisciplinary approach that involves the person, family, friends/representative. You will also learn about the differences between delirium, depression and dementia, and how they may co-exist in individuals.

Module 3: Prevention
This module is about preventing delirium in aged and community care settings. This module will help you understand how to maintain a supportive environment and how to implement a range of interventions that support wellbeing tailored to an individual.

You will also learn about communicating within your team to ensure timely and appropriate responses to change.

Learning Outcomes

After this course you will be able to:

• Explain what delirium is and how to recognise it
• Identify common risk factors for delirium
• Identify a range of interventions that prevent delirium
• Monitor for changes in behaviour, cognition, physical condition and function
• Outline how to screen and assess for delirium in aged care settings
• Explain the importance of family involvement and getting to know the person