Curriculum for General Practice - The Royal New Zealand College ...

Older People
O
Professionalism
The GP will demonstrate the ability to:
• adopt an attitude of respect for the older patient’s dignity
and autonomy
• recognise how age discrimination can affect managing
older patients
• employ culturally safe and non-discriminatory attitudes
and practices
• examine the ethics of how the capacity for informed
consent can be impaired, and involve family/whānau
and carers in the power of attorney, as appropriate
• apply a balance between emotional distance and proximity
to the patient
• employ ethical principles of informed consent with
patients when formulating advanced care plans and
discussing end-of-life care issues
• recognise psychological influences of counter-transference
and conflicts of interest in relationships with older patients
and their families/whānau
• describe the potential difficulties of managing unwell
older people in rural or remote communities and the ways
of maintaining their safety and care.
Scholarship
The GP will demonstrate the ability to:
• adopt appropriate medical record systems to manage
the range of health issues which impact on older people
• incorporate evidence-based advances in knowledge
and practice into the care of older people
• practise up-to-date management of conditions in
older people
• identify their own gaps in knowledge and skills in relation
to older people’s care and demonstrate a commitment
to lifelong learning in practice.
• ensure knowledge of prescribing for older people is
current and up to date, in particular in the areas of
pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and polypharmacy
www.rnzcgp.org.nz
Curriculum for General Practice
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