Study Guide

Descriptions

The objective of the Degree Programme in Elderly Care is to develop experts who have a comprehensive knowledge of elderly care and can support quality and participatory ageing. Through their work, Elderly Care Professionals promote the wellbeing, health and functioning of elderly people. Through their studies they become professionals in care for the elderly, both capable of developing the future direction of elderly care in the metropolitan area specifically and enabling the meaningful life, participation and agency of elderly people.
A graduate’s skills consist of the nationally accepted competencies of the Bachelor of Social Services and Health Care (Elderly Care) and the individual’s knowledge, skills and competencies:
* Gerontological competence and ethical principles
* Resource-based and rehabilitative work
* Multi-disciplinary expertise and work in a variety of elderly care environments
* Evaluation of services and their needs, coordination and management of care, nursing and rehabilitation in multi-professional working environments
* Production, management and development of elderly care services
There are six areas of competence defined in the nationwide Degree Programme in Elderly Care programme competences:
* Gerontological competence
* Multidisciplinary assessment competence
* Counselling competence
* Gerontological care, nursing and rehabilitation competence
* Service provision competence
* Management, development and quality assurance competence
The Degree Programme in Elderly Care also produces shared degree skills as defined by ARENE (Rectors' Conference of Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences) (2010), which are comprised of the following competences: learning skills, ethical competence, workplace skills, innovation skills and internationalisation.
Degree Basics
Bachelor of Social Services and Health Care (Elderly Care) is a joint UAS degree in the field of health care and social services. It is based on the international and national descriptions of educational levels, national strategies and quality recommendations for the elderly, nationwide competencies provided by the Bachelor of Social Services and Health Care (Elderly Care) degree and ARENE workplace-based needs and multidisciplinary gerontological research.
Upon completion of the degree programme, the student will have learned the key concepts and theoretical knowledge of the field and be able to apply them in different working situations. The graduate will be able to think critically and innovatively to solve complex and unforeseen problems, to evaluate and develop himself or herself and the team, and to keep learning continually. (European Qualification Framework, EQF, level 6).
The Degree Programme in Elderly Care optimizes the students’ previously learned skills (AHOT=APL Accreditation of Previous Learning). Students create their own skills assessments, which can be used to identify the students’ competences and to acknowledge them as part of the required competences of the programme.
Profession and Job Description
Elderly Care Professionals work in customer care with individuals and groups of the elderly in multi-professional teams. They can work as producers, coordinators, planners and developers of elderly care services in the public sector, or in organizations, foundations and companies.
Degree Programme Objectives
Programme training is based on the view that elderly people are active participants in their own lives and communities. The expertise of the Elderly Care Professional consists of multidisciplinary gerontological knowledge and research, and the integrated application of information from social work, gerontological nursing and rehabilitation. At different stages of the training the special features of ageing, elderly care and services in the metropolitan area will be studied. As a result, the graduate will be able to apply a variety of different methods to working with customers, support elderly people and their family members in daily life, guide them to personalized services, plan and implement services and assess the availability and quality of the services.
The theoretical and practical competences of Elderly Care Professionals will deepen through the activities of development, innovation and research. They will evaluate the future development needs of elderly care services and be involved in the development of the services through multi-professional cooperation with other participants in the field of elderly care.
The Degree Programme in Elderly Care and all the training involved are based on the following successive modules and areas of expertise:
Gerontological Competence 30 cr
Basics of Elderly Care Services 30 cr
Good Ageing 30 cr
Support for Living at Home 30 cr
Development of Elderly Care 30 cr
Multi-professional Elderly Care 30 cr
Professionalism in Elderly Care 30 cr
The Elderly Care Student’s investigative and developmental approach to work is based on workplace-based learning and multidisciplinary collaboration with other professionals in various elderly care environments. As the studies progress, the student’s expertise will progress from beginner, to advanced, to skilled, and finally, to independent. With each study year and module, the student’s know-how will develop to a deeper level.
The first year student, or beginner, will focus on the modules of Gerontological Knowledge and Basics of Elderly Care Services, appropriating the basics of gerontology, elderly care and the overall strengthening of the performance capacities of the elderly.
In the second year, through the Good Ageing and Support for Living at Home modules, the student will reach the advanced level, which entails the appropriation of gerontological knowledge and the application of skills needed to advance the wellbeing and health of the elderly through different approaches, methods and service systems.
The Development of Elderly Care and the Multi-professional Elderly Care modules during the third year will develop the student to the skilled level, deepening a service leadership approach to work and utilising the methods of multi-professional networking.
In the fourth year, the Professionalism in Elderly Care module reinforces the independent practitioner level, in which the ability to independently run, develop and manage elderly care services and working community activities will grow. The student will be able to justify and analyse his or her professionalism in Elderly Care in a multi-professional elderly care environment.
Learning in the degree programme is based on the Learning Track objectives, which include a work-based approach to learning, KIT (Development, Innovation and Research) investigative and developmental learning, lifelong learning, multi-disciplinary learning and internationality. Pedagogical activities are guided by project-learning and cooperative learning principles.
The degree offers courses that develop internationality, networking skills, project know-how, business skills, environmental understanding, service skills, and design-oriented thinking.
The Degree Programme in Elderly Care includes courses carried out in multidisciplinary collaboration with other degree programs, such as combined semesters, joint courses, innovation studies and 15 ECTS credits of elective studies. Through elective courses, students can expand the knowledge provided by the degree programme to fit their personal objectives. Where applicable, the instruction is organized through project work. The starting point for learning comes from the situations and problems that actually arise in professional life, to which solutions are sought through a variety of work-based environments and development projects.
The work-based approach is carried out through internships in various environments of elderly care (43 credits), innovation studies and programme projects that are based on the fusion of working life with input from different professionals in the elderly care field. Each project’s objectives are based on the actual development needs of working life. Students may also complete their studies through the Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences KIT programme and development projects. Students benefit from the internship guidance, partnership and mentoring from professionals in working life through on-the-job training, projects and development tasks.
Internationality
Students of Elderly Care have the opportunity to participate in international activities during their studies. Through exchange programmes it is possible to study and do an internship placement at universities abroad. The degree programme also invites lecturers from international partner institutions, and students are encouraged to join international projects. During the theory studies and in conjunction with the internship, students will also learn about internationalisation at home. Additionally, English language teaching is integrated in the study programme.