Educating the aged care workforce about dementia

The University of Tasmania’s Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre offers a suite of programs to address the need for improved dementia knowledge and awareness, particularly for those providing direct care to people with dementia. The free Understanding Dementia Massive Open Online Course (UDMOOC) provides fundamental dementia education about the brain, the diseases and care, and the Bachelor of Dementia Care (BDC) program provides comprehensive dementia care education which enables development of specialised knowledge. The UDMOOC significantly improves knowledge of dementia in the large cohort of care worker participants and some are motivated to progress to the BDC. For care workers who graduate with a BDC no formal role currently exists to capitalise on their unique combination of knowledge and skills. The 2-year Improving Dementia Care Program began in May 2017 in three Tasmanian aged care home sites to explore a potential new role for care worker BDC graduates. From this program, a new aged care role is proposed, the Dementia Care Support Worker, which recognises the strengths of care worker graduates of the BDC Program. This model provides an opportunity for care worker graduates to combine their practical experience of caring for people with dementia in residential aged care with contemporary dementia knowledge and bring this to a peer support role. Key stakeholders have been found to be highly supportive of this type of role, citing its potential to improve staff understanding of dementia and care for residents living with dementia.