Gerontology for companions: a model curriculum.

: Although paid companions spend many hours in direct contact with their older clients, the majority have little or no grounding in gerontological developmental theory. This article describes a project that provided academic training for paraprofessionals through a pilot curriculum. Goals were to provide companions who were already working with socially isolated clients with a sound theoretical and practical grounding in communication skills, the aging process, and issues of loss and grief. To accomplish these goals, partnership was developed between an academic institution, a case management agency, and a direct service provider. Preliminary analysis of the pretest and posttest data measuring the outcome of the modules found that, as companions learned about continued growth and development in their older clients, these workers achieved a greater sense of self-fulfillment and job satisfaction.