Geriatric Care Assistant

The Geriatric Care Assistant Technical Certificate of Credit provides the basic knowledge and skills needed to qualify employment as a nurse aide in nursing homes, elder personal care homes, and home healthcare agencies. The certificate emphasizes geriatric patient care, CPR, and first aid. Students successfully completing the certificate are eligible to be placed on the State Registry for nurse aides.

Gerontology is the physical, mental, and sociological study of aging. It includes the study of changes in adults as they age, how society changes with an aging population, and how we apply this information to programs and policies for older adults. A degree in gerontology prepares the student for careers working with older adults or as advocates for the elderly. Gerontology is a diverse field with career opportunities in human services, government agencies, retirement communities, nursing homes, health care, and long-term institutional care. Gerontologists serve as social workers, nursing aides, social scientists, and healthcare managers. Careers for gerontologists are numerous because they include almost any profession in which an older person is cared for and assisted.

Employment opportunities for gerontology healthcare workers are expected to grow much faster than the average for all other occupations. Over the next eight years job opportunities will increase by over 36%. Social services directed toward the elderly will be a major responsibility for the health care community. Nursing homes and other facilities that care for the elderly will need many more professionals to insure that facilities and programs are capable of handling the rising elderly population. As the baby-boom generation becomes increasingly older, demand for gerontology professionals will skyrocket. As in most occupations, many openings will result from the need to replace workers who transfer, retire, or stop working for some other reason.