NSW health Dementia Care Competency Framework

Self Assessment

Online survey helps measure your initial dementia care competency level

Find a Mentor

Working with your mentor set a competency goal to work towards

Map Evidence & Activities

Build a portfolio of evidence and develop an Action Plan

Certificate of Competency

Once your goal is reached, gain a certificate of competency

Dementia Care Network

An Introduction to our website

View an overview of the website

May – August 2018

May

Wed

10th World Congress on Alzheimers Disease & Dementia @ Hyatt Regency Osaka

May 30, 2018 – May 31, 2018 all-day

10th World Congress on Alzheimers Disease & Dementia, will be organized around the theme “Novel Research and Diagnostic Approaches of Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia” Alzheimers Congress 2018 [...]

Jul

Thu

2018 Aged Care Symposium: Running the Race Against the Time Clock of Ageing @ Ballina RSL

July 19, 2018 @ 8:30 am – July 20, 2018 @ 5:00 pm

Aug

Mon

8th Global Experts Meeting on Advances in Neurology and Neuropsychiatry @ Radisson Hotel Narita

August 27, 2018 @ 8:30 am – August 28, 2018 @ 5:00 pm

Conference Series extends its welcome to 8th Global Experts Meeting on Advances in Neurology and Neuropsychiatry during August 27-28, 2018 at Radisson Hotel Narita, Tokyo, Japan [...]

Meet A Few of Our Course Facilitators

Last year, Cath was awarded a lifetime achievement award by NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner. Cath works as a dementia and delirium clinical nurse consultant in the Southern NSW Local Health District and has been facilitating courses here since 2007

Cath Bateman Clinical Nurse Consultant

Barbara trained and registered as a Psychiatric Nurse in 1970 in Newcastle NSW. Barbara worked in the state Psychiatric System until 1983 and then in private psychiatry until 1989. In 1998 Barbara commenced work with Byron Shire Respite Service Inc. transferring her skills to working with people with dementia and challenging behaviours.

Barbara Chambers Byron Respite Service

Kathy trained at Liverpool Hospital in NSW in early 80’s and has undertaken Geriatric Training at Garrawarra Hospital and Child & Adolescent Training at the NSW College of Nursing. Kathy is currently the CNC Clinical Project Officer for the Dementia Care and Competency Training Network for NSW Health. This role involves facilitating and co-facilitating the dementia elearning program

Kathy DeSouza Clinical Nurse Consultant

Living with Dementia

Kate Swaffer

Read Kate's Blog

Recent Discussion Topics

Kathy de Souza on Monday February 26th Solanezumab Every 4 Weeks Does Not Significantly Affect Cognitive Decline in AD
A 400-mg dose of solanezumab every 4 weeks is not associated with a reduction in cognitive decline among patients with mild dementia caused by to Alzheimer disease (AD), according to findings from a phase 3…
Kathy de Souza on Monday February 26th End-of-life hospital and healthcare use among older adults with Alzheimer's dise
Because people are now living longer and often healthier lives, the rate of some illnesses that are more likely to develop with age has risen. These illnesses include dementia. In fact, the number of us…
Kathy de Souza on Monday February 26th Cognitive Decline in Men Linked to Low Serum Sodium
Low serum sodium is associated with cognitive impairment and cognitive decline among community-dwelling older men, according to a study published online in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. Kristen L. Nowak, PhD,…
Kathy de Souza on Monday February 26th Dementia: Benefits of Early Detection
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, there are more than 5.5 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia. Of those 5.5 million, 5.3 million are seniors age 65 and older. With the senior…
Kathy de Souza on Monday February 26th If The Brain Withers
Over four million Indians have dementia, the disease with no cure. And, not more than 10 percent of them are diagnosed. What would it mean to be at the peak of your abilities, to have…
Kathy de Souza on Monday February 26th Hospital Patients with Dementia Twice as Likely to Return Within 30 Days
Older hospital patients with dementia are about twice as likely to return to the hospital within 30 days of discharge, compared to older adults without dementia, according to a new study published in the Journal…
Kathy de Souza on Friday February 23rd Walk while counting backward to diagnose this type of dementia
Simple walking tests can accurately diagnose a type of dementia that may sometimes be reversed when identified early and quickly treated, a study published Wednesday in the journal Neurology found. Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus, or…
Kathy de Souza on Friday February 23rd Creative couples' intervention significantly helps people with Alzheimer's...
For couples with decades of shared memories, a partner's decline in the ability to communicate because of dementia is frightening and frustrating. Communication strategies they've used before simply don't work anymore. By getting creative, an…
Kathy de Souza on Friday February 23rd Health tech could bridge the gap to help identify dementia earlier
Currently, there is currently no reliable biological or technological method of diagnosing dementia, but according to the AXA Health Tech & You State of the Nation Survey, more than three quarters (77%) of British adults…
Kathy de Souza on Friday February 23rd Diagnosing Dementia Through the Retina
Many say that the eyes are windows to the soul. Actually, they may be a window to something else — like frontotemporal dementia. For years, researchers have been trying to find a way to diagnose…
Kathy de Souza on Friday February 23rd Protein intake lowers Alzheimer's risk
Eating enough foods high in protein such as chicken, tuna, lentils and peanuts may reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, Australian research suggests. Researchers at Edith Cowan University's school of medical and health sciences…
Kathy de Souza on Friday February 23rd Simple walking test may help diagnose dementia
German researchers have identified a simple walking test that may be able to accurately diagnose dementia. The study, published on Wednesday in the journal Neurology, showed that seeing how fast a person can walk while…
Bronwyn Arthur on Thursday February 22nd Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and Art Centre - "Art Engage"
The Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and Art Centre has a “Art Engage” session (Wednesday 28th February) for people with dementia. This is a free program that engages the viewer using language of art in conversation, looking…
Kathy de Souza on Thursday February 22nd Ten-year study links cognitive decline to high blood sugar levels
We know a high blood sugar level is not healthy, putting you at risk for type 2 diabetes. In America, this disease should be considered an epidemic, though oddly we seem to put more effort…
Kathy de Souza on Thursday February 22nd Dementia sufferers at higher risk of hospital readmission
Elderly people with dementia are about 1.5 times more likely to be readmitted to the hospital soon after being discharged than non-sufferers with the same diseases or injuries, a Japanese research team has announced. The…

Dementia Care Competency Framework

The program incorporates the recently completed cross-setting, inter-disciplinary Dementia Care Competency Framework, developed by NSW Health, The University of Wollongong and Dementia Collaborative Research Centres. Ten Clinical Competencies and 40 Domains of Practice have been established to evaluate and inform dementia care professional development.