With the changing population structure in the world and our country, the proportion of elderly population is increasing every day and aging in society is becoming one of the most important concepts of the century we are in. The increasing life expectancy is revealing the care needs of elderly individuals. Calculations based on the assumption that current demographic trends will continue indicate that the 21st century will also be an elderly century in Turkey, parallel to expectations worldwide. In this context, the need for elderly care personnel continues to increase. With the changing age structure, especially in the second half of the century, it is expected that the elderly population will gain importance in Turkey in social, demographic, and economic terms, and it is predicted that there will be around 16 million elderly individuals in Turkey by 2050.
The need for intermediate personnel who can assist elderly individuals in maintaining their daily living activities and addressing health problems arising from diseases, and who can work as a team with other professionals in this field, has rapidly increased. These personnel should be able to approach the elderly from a health and social service perspective.
Starting from this perspective, our University has launched the Elderly Care Program under the Department of Health Care Services and will accept its first students in the 2019-2020 Academic Year. The main aim of this program is to train professionals who have internalized the concepts and principles, are based on universal science and education in their field, can combine theoretical knowledge with practice, fulfill the professional requirements of their profession, prepare the necessary environments, know the basic characteristics, care, and needs of elderly individuals, can provide treatment, support, and rehabilitation services, love and respect people, possess creative, tolerant, and patient personality traits, and can adopt a holistic approach to elderly individuals in institutions providing elderly care services.
Students graduating from this program as competent health technicians with the ability to implement and develop elderly care services will be awarded an “Associate Degree in Elderly Care.”
Our graduates who have completed the program and received their diploma can be employed in public and private sector hospitals, social services and nursing homes where elderly care services are provided, elderly care homes, homes for the weak, and day centers for the elderly. Those who successfully complete the Elderly Care associate degree program can make a vertical transition to undergraduate programs in Nutrition and Dietetics, Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Nursing, and Gerontology within the quota, provided they succeed in the Vertical Transfer Exam conducted by ÖSYM.