Healthcare Decision Making

To ensure nurses in acute care:

A.  Understand the supporting bioethical and legal principles of informed consent

B.  Are able to differentiate between competence and capacity

C.  Understand the issues and processes used to assess decisional capacity

D.  Can describe the nurse’s role and responsibility as an advocate for the patient’s voice in healthcare decision-making

General Surgical Care

To restore physiological stability, prevent complications, maintain safety and comfort, and preserve presurgical functional ability and QOL in older adult surgical patients.

Function-Focused Care (FFC) Interventions

To help nurses collaborate with the interdisciplinary team to implement interventions that maximize the older adult’s functional abilities and performance. This protocol can be used in combination with Protocol Assessment of Physical Function.

Frailty and its Implications for Care

To ensure that nurses in acute care are able to

1.  Describe frailty in hospitalized older adults.

2.  List complications associated with frailty in hospitalized older adults.

3.  Discuss the importance of early recognition of frailty.

4.  Develop a patient-centered plan for frail hospitalized older adults.