The Gerontology Graduate Certificate Program is an interdisciplinary 16-credit-hour program of study designed to provide the learner with leadership and management tools specifically for the health care environment. The focus of the program is to educate students who will become leaders in improving the quality of life for older individuals and their families in Tennessee, the nation, and the world. Faculty from the departments of Sociology, Applied Human Sciences, Physical Education, Exercise, and Sport Sciences, Public Health, Adult Nursing, Communicative Disorders, Physical Therapy, Social Work, and Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology design and teach the courses within the program.

ADMISSION TO THE PROGRAM

The criteria for admission to the Gerontology Graduate Certificate Program include:

1.  A bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution.

2. An undergraduate grade point average of 2.5 or higher.

Application materials which must be submitted to the School of Graduate Studies include an
application, a resume demonstrating interest and/or experience in gerontology, three letters of
reference, and official transcripts from all colleges attended. All applications will be evaluated by
an admissions committee composed of representatives from the Gerontology Steering Committee.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

The Gerontology Graduate Certificate will only be awarded to students who have been officially admitted to the program and have successfully completed 16 credit hours of approved coursework. A student may transfer up to nine (9) credit hours of approved coursework into the program. In order to receive the certificate, a student must earn a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or above on coursework. A student may simultaneously pursue both the certificate and a graduate degree program, if he/she is duly admitted to both programs. However, being admitted to a degree program and successfully completing coursework typically required for the graduate certificate does not automatically qualify a student for the certificate. Students interested in jointly pursuing the certificate program and a graduate degree in a related discipline should contact Office of Student Services, College of Public and Allied Health, for more details and a sample curriculum.

PROGRAM OF STUDY

The following courses are required for the Gerontology Graduate Certificate; Core Requirements (10 hours):

Guided electives to be selected from listed courses; minimum of 6 hours: (NOTE: Some clinicals/discipline specific courses have prerequisites that must be met before enrolling as an elective. Check with advisor.)

For information and application materials for the Gerontology Graduate Certificate Program, write or call:

EAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY

Colleges of Public & Allied Health, Nursing,
Business and Technology,
Arts and Sciences, Medicine, and Education

GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN GERONTOLOGY

Each student will design a Program of Study to include 10 hours of core requirements in addition to 6 hours minimum of guided electives to be selected from listed courses. (NOTE: Some clinical/discipline specific courses have prerequisites that must be met before enrolling as an elective. Check with advisor.) The Gerontology Graduate Certificate will only be awarded to students who have been officially admitted to the program and have successfully completed 16 credit hours of approved coursework. A student may transfer up to nine (9) credit hours of approved coursework into the certificate program. In the final semester, a student must complete a culminating experience as part of the Advanced Interdisciplinary Seminar in Gerontology. The time limit for completing the certificate is six (6) years from the date of enrollment in the earliest course applied toward the certificate, including transferred courses.

REQUIRED CORE COURSES

PUBH 5535 Health Policy, Politics, and Analysis
This course applies the analytical skills of policy formation to the health professions. The course will focus on analyzing the processes in the design, adoption, implementation and evaluation of current health policy. (Spring)

PUBH 5607 Gerontology and Health
This course examines the aging process and familiarizes the student with physical, physiological, psychological, and social changes which have an impact on health. (Fall, Summer)

IDGE 5500 Advanced Seminar in Gerontology: An Interdisciplinary Approach
This course provides a culminating experience for students in the gerontology certificate program. Students will participate in either a research or practice experience and will share progress from their work in this seminar. (Spring)

ELECTIVES

ALNU 5013 Life Span Assessment and Clinical Management: Older Adults
Prerequisites: ALNU 5009 & 5010, PMNU 5000. This course focuses on nursing and health care management of the older adult in underserved, rural, and urban populations. Course content includes physiological, pathological, and psychosocial changes relative to problems of health maintenance, minor acute illnesses, chronicity, and life transitions. Emphasis is given to intervention and evaluation strategies which enhance direct and indirect care coordination of services, and holistic care for older adults and their families. (Summer)

ALNU 5021 Case Management
Prerequisites: Graduate status or permission of instructor. This course focuses on the current and evolving role of the professional in case management and in the managed care environment. Dimensions of the case management role will be explored through class discussion, oral and written presentation, and expert testimony. Students will have the opportunity to explore the process of case management from a variety of theoretical perspectives, and they also will have the opportunity to examine emerging trends. (Variable)

CDIS 6310 Rehabilitative Audiology for Adults
A study of the rehabilitative processes and procedures used with the adult hearing impaired population. (Variable)

FACS 4427/5427 Diet in Disease I
Principles of clinical dietetics management, medical terminology, medical documentation, design, and implementation of nutrition care plans. Begin the application of principles of clinical nutrition to prevention and treatment of disease, drug-nutrient interaction, nutritional assessment, and nutritional support. (Fall)

PEXS 5977 Exercise Management for Persons with Chronic Diseases
This course will examine chronic diseases and disabilities that occur in many individuals. It is oriented toward understanding the disease, the effects exercise may have on the disease, and modifications to general exercise programs. (Fall)

PHYT 5433 Neurotherapeutics IIl-Geriatrics
This course is designed to provide students the opportunity to build upon and integrate previous course work in physical therapy evaluation and treatment planning of the geriatric client. Emphasis is placed on the musculoskeletal, neurologic, cardiopulmonary, and psychosocial factors involved in the normal aging process. Students will then modify, practice and demonstrate various treatment approaches to select medical problems frequently encountered in the geriatric population. (Spring)

PUBH 5110 Assessment of Individual and Community Health
This course covers theory and application of techniques for assessing individual and community health status, risk and needs. Identifying, collecting and utilizing appropriate demographic and health-related data are examined as a foundation for addressing health problems in a responsive and meaningful way. Students select a real world health problem or population to be the focus of assessment projects during the semester. (Fall)

PUBH 5357 Thanatology
Explores the concepts of death, dying, and grief and addresses the topics of medical, legal, social, cultural and religious views of death both in America and other cultures. Through these studies, students will learn how to better deal with their own emotions and better understand that death is a process of life. (Spring)

PUBH 5510 Long-Term Care Administration
This course provides an introduction to the principles and applications of long-term care administration. General management, personnel management, and government regulations will be discussed. This course will enhance a student’s process toward licensure required for long-term care administrators. (Variable)

SOAA 5507 Sociology of the Aging
Prerequisite: Sociology 1020 or permission of the instructor. An application of basic sociological principles, theories, and research findings to the understanding of the aging and their relationships with other segments of the population. (Variable)

SOAA 5620 Sociology of Age and the Life Course
This seminar is designed as a survey of theoretical and methodological issues as well as substantive research in the area of aging and life course studies. Issues to be addressed pertain to all of the adult life span. (Variable)

East Tennessee State University makes available to prospective students the ETSU Security Information Report. This annual report includes campus crime statistics for the three most recent calendar years and various campus policies concerning law enforcement, the reporting of criminal activity, and crime prevention programs. The ETSU Security Information Report is available upon request from the Department of Public Safety, Box 70646, ETSU, Johnson City, TN 37614. The report can be accessed on the Internet at: http://www.etsu.edu/dps/security_report.htm. Publ. #110-013-00 2M 01/01.