End of Life Care, Gerontology (Technical Certificate)

Program Overview

Colorado Mesa University's End of Life Care, Gerontology Technical Certificate program prepares individuals for careers in the aging population, equipping them with knowledge on the aging process, palliative care, and end-of-life support. Graduates will possess expertise in gerontology, enabling them to effectively support aging individuals and their families. The 13-semester-hour program emphasizes practical application and critical thinking, ensuring graduates are equipped with the skills to excel in this specialized field.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The End of Life Care, Gerontology Technical Certificate program at Colorado Mesa University (CMU) is designed for individuals interested in careers in the field of aging, those already employed in gerontology or related fields who seek to enhance their career paths, and those seeking challenging career changes in response to an aging society. The coursework emphasizes gaining gerontology knowledge and application pertaining to the aging process, palliative care, and support for those nearing the end of life.

Objectives:

This certificate provides applicable learning and relevancy as an additional certificate, valuable to Health Science and Social/Behavioral Science majors who want to specialize in working with the elderly population. Graduates are expected to demonstrate proficiency in specialized knowledge/applied learning, communication fluency, and critical thinking. Specifically, graduates will be able to:

• Discuss and synthesize the aging process from a biological, social, and medical perspective.
• Describe at least three biological and three social theories used to predict how an individual might respond to the aging process, old age, or end of life.
• Present and explain effective interventions, practices, or therapies supporting family members and dying persons through the end-of-life process.

Other:

The program is a Technical Certificate, requiring 13 semester hours of coursework. It consists of 100-200 level courses with at least 50% of the credit hours taken at CMU. A minimum GPA of 2.00 is required in all CMU coursework. A grade lower than "C" will not count towards the requirements.