Intellectual Disability Nursing
Nurses in intellectual disability (ID) work in a broad range of services including long-stay settings, community, day-care, care of the older person, child and adolescent. Nurses in ID have a diversity of roles, on a continuum ranging from intensive physical nursing of persons with a severe degree of disability to supportive guidance in the management of children, adults and older persons. To this end and to ensure that you will have the appropriate skillset for the diverse settings and needs of people with ID, specialised skill are also part of your clinical learning. Examples of which are:
Year One
Task Analysis
Supporting individuals to become independent adults involves teaching and supporting the person to master skills of daily living. One method to this is called Task Analysis.Task analysis is the process of breaking a skill into smaller, more manageable steps in order to teach the skill. As the smaller steps are mastered, the person becomes increasingly independent in his or her ability to perform the larger skill. In year one, you will learn how to support the person in choosing a skill they may need or wish to learn. Task analysis can be used in school, home, or community settings. You will practice developing complex task analysis which are individualised to the person's needs.
Year Two
Many children/adults with intellectual disability (ID) have multiple health problems secondary to their neurological disorder. Dysphagia, which means that the person has difficulty in the oral preparation for the swallow or in moving food from their mouth to the stomach. Some of your clinical skills will focus on correct positioning of the person during mealtimes, checking the consistency of food etc. However in Year two you will learn the procedure for the introduction of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG). PEG feeding is as an effective way of providing enteral feeding to individuals, who for many reasons cannot meet their nutritional needs because of inadequate oral intake.
Year Three
In year three you will complete the multi element behavioural support model as part of your advanced skills. This approach supports individual who engage in behaviours of distress/challenging behaviours to communicate their important messages. The person may be nonverbal but wants to say "I feel awful today" or "I am in pain" or "leave me alone" but is unable to verbalise and so may use an alternative method that others may find challenging. In this year you will learn specific skills on functional assessment, analysis and teaching alternative communications methods to support the individual.
Discipline Specific courses include:
- MAPA (Management of Actual and Potential Aggression)
- Dementia
- Autism