| Effective Term: | 2025/05 |
| Institute / School : | Institute of Health and Wellbeing |
| Unit Title: | Management and Leadership in Aged Care |
| Unit ID: | HEALA6402 |
| Credit Points: | 30.00 |
| Prerequisite(s): | Nil |
| Co-requisite(s): | Nil |
| Exclusion(s): | Nil |
| ASCED: | 060311 |
| Other Change: | |
| Brief description of the Unit |
This unit focuses on governance, leadership and management in the increasingly complex, demanding and rewarding area of care for the elderly in acute, non-acute, residential and in-home care settings. Content includes recognising risk in elderly consumers of healthcare and residential aged care facilities. Students will be introduced to the regulatory environment (the Aged Care Quality Standards) and information from the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. Students will also be introduced to the National Disability Insurance Scheme as it relates to the provision of aged care support services both in residential aged care facilities and in peoples’ homes.
Topics will include management responsibilities relating to service/operational workflows and logistics, staffing, rostering, and safety and quality systems. Leadership skills and attributes to equip managers to maintain consistent high quality care and services will be explored in the context of governance requirements and responsibilities of governing bodies. Students will examine case studies and explore implications for practice. |
| Grade Scheme: | Graded (HD, D, C, P, MF, F, XF) |
| Work Experience Indicator: |
| No work experience |
| Placement Component: No |
| Supplementary Assessment:Yes |
| Where supplementary assessment is available a student must have failed overall in the Unit but gained a final mark of 45 per cent or above, has completed all major assessment tasks (including all sub-components where a task has multiple parts) as specified in the Unit Description and is not eligible for any other form of supplementary assessment |
| Course Level: |
| Level of Unit in Course | AQF Level(s) of Course | | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | | Introductory | | | | | | | | Intermediate | | | |  | | | | Advanced | | | | | | |
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| Learning Outcomes: |
| Knowledge: |
| K1. | Describe clinical and social needs and associated risks for elderly consumers of health and aged care services. |
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| K2. | Identify the relevant regulatory bodies that govern / fund / oversee the application of standards in residential aged care services and care of the elderly in acute health care settings. |
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| K3. | Analyse safety and quality systems that support the provision of high-quality care in the regulation of aged care. |
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| K4. | Recognise and distinguish between management, leadership and governance in providing services to the elderly in acute care setting and residential aged care facilities. |
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| K5. | Relate/Determine the complexity in managing demand in acute health service with an increasing cohort of frail, elderly healthcare consumers awaiting return to or placement into residential aged care facilities. |
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| Skills: |
| S1. | Relate theoretical knowledge of policy, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Standards and the National Safety and Quality Standards to practice in acute and residential aged care services. |
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| S2. | Appraise the challenges and limitations of theoretical and practical concepts in providing health and support services to the elderly in their own homes, in acute healthcare and residential aged care facilities, and recognise the differences in various settings. |
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| S3. | Develop team skills to research, analyse and propose solutions for complex issues that arise in caring for the elderly. |
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| Application of knowledge and skills: |
| A1. | Evaluate the application of the relevant standards to service delivery, the impact of governance and the role of management and leadership in service provision. |
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| A2. | Undertake critical and systematic analysis of relevant theories, policies, standards and practices and communicate findings with clarity to specialist and non-specialist audiences. |
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| Unit Content: |
Topics may include:
1. Caring for the elderly: government inquiries and recommendations, legislation, regulation and policy.
2. Caring for the elderly in all settings: risk assessments, inclusivity and respect, recognising and responding to acute clinical and cognitive deterioration, end of life care.
3. Aged Care Quality Standards, National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards and their application to the care environment.
4. Governance responsibilities as described by the relevant regulatory body and implications for governing bodies, leaders and managers.
5. The role of the manager – managing complexity, managing up, leading for high quality care.
6. The role of senior leadership (including the governing body).
7. Quality and safety systems to support high quality care.
8. Staffing, training and education. |
| Graduate Attributes: |
| Federation University recognises that students require key transferable employability skills to prepare them for their future workplace and society. FEDTASKS (Transferable Attributes Skills and Knowledge) provide a targeted focus on five key transferable Attributes, Skills, and Knowledge that are be embedded within curriculum, developed gradually towards successful measures and interlinked with cross-discipline and Co-operative Learning opportunities. One or more FEDTASK, transferable Attributes, Skills or Knowledge must be evident in the specified learning outcomes and assessment for each FedUni Unit, and all must be directly assessed in each Course.
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| FED TASK and descriptor | Development and acquisition of FEDTASKS in the Unit | | Level | FEDTASK 1
Interpersonal | Students will demonstrate high-level skills to effectively communicate, interact and work with others both individually and in groups Students will be required to display (in person and/or online) high-level skills in-person and/or online in: • Effective verbal and non-verbal communication via a range of synchronous and asynchronous methods • Active listening for meaning and influencing • High-level empathy for others • Negotiating and demonstrating extended conflict resolution skills • Working respectfully in cross-cultural and diverse teams | 1 - Yes | FEDTASK 2
Leadership | Students will demonstrate the ability to apply leadership skills and behaviours Students will be required to display skills in: • Creating, contributing to, and enabling collegial environments • Showing self-awareness and the ability to self-reflect for personal growth • Inspiring and enabling others • Making informed and evidence-based decisions through consultation with others • Displaying initiative and ability to solve problems | 1 - Yes | FEDTASK 3
Critical Thinking and Creativity | Students will demonstrate an ability to work in complex and ambiguous environments, using their imagination to create new ideas Students will be required to display skills in: • Reflecting critically on complex problems • Synthesising, evaluating ideas, concepts and information • Proposing alternative perspectives to refine ideas • Challenging conventional thinking to clarify concepts through deep inquiry • Proposing creative solutions in problem solving | 1 - Yes | FEDTASK 4
Digital Literacy | Students will demonstrate the ability to work proficiently across a range of tools, platforms and applications to achieve a range of tasks Students will be required to display high-level skills in: • Finding, accessing, collating, evaluating, managing, curating, organising and appropriately and securely sharing complex digital information at a high-level • Receiving and responding to messages in a range of digital media • Using digital tools appropriately to conduct research • Contributing proficiently to digital teams and working groups • Participating in and utilising digital learning opportunities | 1 - Yes | FEDTASK 5
Sustainable and Ethical Mindset | Students will demonstrate the ability to think ethically and sustainably. Students will be required to display skills in: • The responsible conduct of research • Making informed judgments that consider the impact of devising solutions in multiple global economic environmental and societal contexts • Demonstrating commitment to social responsibility as a professional and a citizen • Generating research solutions which are sustainable,ethical, socially responsible and/or sustainable • Extending lifelong, life-wide and life-deep learning to be open to diverse others • Demonstrate extended actions to foster sustainability in their professional and personal life. | 1 - Yes |
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| | Learning Outcomes Assessed | Assessment Tasks | Assessment Type | Weighting | | 1. | K1, K2, S1, S2, S3, A1 | Team task - work in teams to review the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care, consider implications for practice in caring for the elderly and present their finding to the class. Students are expected to explore relevant literature to support their findings. | Group presentation | 10-30% | | 2. | K1, K2, S1, S2, S3, A1 | Individual task – use the information analysed for the presentation and prepare a written report. Include references from the relevant Standards and contemporary literature. | Written report | 10-30% | | 3. | K1, K2, K3, K4, K5, S1, S2, S3, A1, A2 | Describe how a manager would respond to acute cognitive decline in an elderly resident (in an aged care facility) or patient (in an acute heath facility). In your report, include
how the quality management system (e.g. complaints & feedback, incident management, consumer participation, restrictive practice etc), would be used by the manager and why
the governance systems and processes that support the manager
explore how a manager can identify and implement opportunities for improvement and
monitor the effectiveness of changes instituted
contribute to organisational learning | Essay | 40 -60% |
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