Module 1: Introduction to the Series

Introduction to the Module

The opening learning module will provide you with an orientation to the program, specifically its aims and objectives as well as what you can expect to experience while working through the learning activities contained within each learning module. The second aspect of the introduction focuses on an overview and background on the population of adults living with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).  Further, we will discuss the guiding principles that inform this work: patient and family-centered, neurodiverse, trauma-informed, and the social model of disability. The last component of this learning module introduces you to our case study, Jonas Garcia, an adult patient diagnosed with IDD who you will follow and reflect about throughout his hospitalization in each learning module.

Introduction of the Subject Matter Expert: 

Holly Brown DNP, RN, PMHNP-BC, PMHCS serves as an Associate Professor at the Wegmans School of Nursing at St. John Fisher University and is the Associate Director of the Golisano Institute for Developmental Disability Nursing. The work of the Golisano Institute is to educate nurses, across all academic programs, about the physical and mental/behavioral health care of individuals diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This work aims to also promote nurses’ skillful advocacy and leadership for the population, which has been largely underserved in healthcare settings due to multilayer inclusion challenges. In addition to her academic and administrative responsibilities, she maintains an active clinical practice as Hillside’s Senior Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner specializing in the care of children and adolescents dually diagnosed with intellectual/developmental disabilities and psychiatric conditions and their families in the community and school-based settings.

What you will learn:   

1. Describe the program components and learning activities included in the program entitled: Optimizing Care for Hospitalized Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities 
2. Describe the prevalence of intellectual and developmental disabilities occurring in adults in the US
3. Discuss the critical relationship between patient and family-centered care, neurodiversity, trauma-informed principles, and the social model of disability each have on the care delivered to hospitalized adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities by nurses in the acute care setting