The National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners, or NCCDP is offering a free toolkit for The National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners Alzheimer’s and Dementia Staff Education Week, which runs from Feb. 14-21. This toolkit includes in services that are designed to be taught in a half an hour to front line staff and health care professionals who deal with patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia.
The toolkit was made to bring more awareness to the great importance of giving complete dementia education to all staff and healthcare professionals who work with these patients. This training needs to happen in an interactive classroom, and should go far beyond the minimum state requirements for dementia education.
According to the NCCDP, there are no national standards at this time for dementia education. Regulations differ from state to state. The NCCDP recommends that all staff have at least eight hours of dementia education, and it also recommends dementia education and certification to all staff who qualify as Certified Dementia Practitioners, or CDP. It also recommends that there be at least one CDP per work shift.
The NCCDP knows just how important it is to have fully educated and certified dementia unit managers, so it offers the free toolkit to increase staff education in this critical area. The toolkit includes:
- Free Power Point In-services including pre-test, post tests, hand outs, answers, in-service evaluation and in-service certificates
- Nurse Educator of the Year Nomination Forms
- Nomination Forms for NCCDP Alzheimer’s and Dementia Staff Education Week Contest
- Proclamations for Senators and Mayor
- Letters to the Editors Promoting Your Program
- 97 Ways to Promote Alzheimer’s and Dementia Staff Education Week
- Resources and Important Web Sites
Given how important it is for staff who work with dementia patients to have as much training as possible, Staff Education Week is an excellent opportunity for caregivers to boost their dementia training.
If you are a caregiver and you just want to learn more about Alzheimer’s, please consider the Family Guide to Alzheimer’s Disease Video Series. This series of DVDs is an invaluable resource for caregivers who are living with someone with Alzheimer’s disease. The series was created for families so they will know exactly what to expect in the coming years with their loved one.