Developmental Disabilities Nursing Today

Price (includes one year of access and CE):  US$12 Course Code: 7SENNF-PRV-09-ddn122 CE: 2.50 Hours. Post Test Score Required for Successful Completion: 80%

Course Overview:

Today, clients with developmental disabilities are seen in all nursing practice settings, from hospitals and outpatient settings to various community settings, including homes and schools. To meet the needs of these clients, specialty nursing practice in developmental disabilities has evolved. This module introduces a Role Partnership/Context Model of nursing care, which emphasizes the equal partnership among the nurse, the caregiver, and the client as all partners work together to maximum quality of life and minimize limitations associated with the disability. The impact of environmental factors (attitudinal, financial, ethical/legal, educational, vocational, political/regulatory, and technological), personal factors (lifespan, personality, culture, values), and caring factors on the context of the partnership relationship is examined. The module also introduces five key concepts that guide nurses who care for people with developmental disabilities. As a vehicle for considering caring interventions within the Role Partnership/Context model, a scenario is presented that involves a young woman with mental retardation who, accompanied by her mother, receives nursing services at a woman's health clinic. The module concludes with an overview of the various nursing roles and practice settings in developmental disabilities nursing today.

Course Objectives:

After completion of this learning activity, the learner will be able to:

• describe a current paradigm for disability.
• define components of the Role Partnership/Context Model.
• describe key concepts in developmental disabilities nursing.
• describe the partnership triad.
• describe how contextual factors influence the relationships among persons in the partnership triad.
• describe how the caring process influences the nursing care of persons with developmental disabilities by decreasing limitations and increasing quality of life.
• describe the current roles of nurses who provide care for persons with developmental disabilities.

This courseware was made possible in part by grant number R43 NR04738-03 from the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors.

Copyright© 2007 by HealthSoft, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

HealthSoft, Inc. is an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the New York State Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

It has been assigned code 7SENNF-PRV-09.

This course is updated annually. Expiration date: 5/1/11

The faculty and planners of this course have no vested interests to disclose.

This course has received no commercial support.