Overview

Caring for Others examines how society cares for its at-risk members and the experiences of its caregivers. This specialization addresses questions such as: How much suffering is in the world today? Does digital media sensitize/desensitize us to the anguish of distant others? What are the different types of paid care work? How do care workers manage their emotions? And much more. This specialization is relevant to individuals interested in becoming a helping professional as well as anyone hoping to improve and better understand the human condition. This specialization may be completed for nursing continuing professional development contact hours. The University of Colorado College of Nursing is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the Colorado Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. This offering for a maximum of 37.5 contact hours is provided by the University of Colorado College of Nursing Office of Continuing Education. Each course provides 12.5 contact hours. If you are an educator, you are eligible to receive 2 teacher education university credits from the University of Colorado Boulder. A portion of the proceeds from this specialization will be used to create paid internships for CU Boulder students pursuing careers in the helping professions.

Syllabus

Course 1: Suffering and the Human Condition
Course 2: Thinking About Care
Course 3: The Challenges of Modern Caregiving

Courses

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7 hours 53 minutes
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Although all humans require care to develop and thrive, it is rarely the focus of academic studies. This course enriches learner’s understanding of this critical yet underappreciated facet of their lives by addressing such questions as: What is care? Who has traditionally provided it? How valued is care work? Does money take the care out of care work? In addition to advancing learner’s knowledge of the place of care in modern society and controversies surrounding it, Thinking About Care will give learners the opportunity to learn a strategy that surveys existing approaches to care.
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8 hours 35 minutes
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Suffering is an inevitable yet poorly understood feature of human existence. This course examines how societies respond to the puzzling reality of human anguish. Among the questions it addresses are the following: What is suffering? Which types of human affliction are unique to the modern world? Have the meaning and portrayal of suffering changed over time? Do digital media sensitize or desensitize us to the anguish of distant others? In addition to introducing students to academic literature and debates on these topics, Suffering and the Human Condition will give them the opportunity to learn a method for studying human affliction that identifies the actors that perpetuate it.
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7 hours 45 minutes
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Care workers are occasionally lauded as “heroes” of society, but the special challenges they face are not fully understood. This course examines how the organization of care has changed in modern times and the dilemmas those developments pose to helping professionals. Among the questions it engages are: How does the meaning of care change when it is performed outside the family? Do bureaucratic systems discourage individuals from taking responsibility for others’ suffering? How do care professionals manage their emotions and those of their clients? Can and should care work be rehumanized? In addition to helping learners develop informed responses to these pressing issues, The Challenges of Modern Caregiving will give students the chance to learn a method that identifies gaps in existing care systems.