Geriatric Interdisciplinary Team Training 2.0: A collaborative team-based approach to delivering care

Abstract

Interprofessional collaborative education and practice has become a cornerstone of optimal person-centered management in the current complex health care climate. This is especially important when working with older adults, many with multiple chronic conditions and challenging health care needs. This paper describes a feasibility study of the Geriatric Interdisciplinary Team Training 2.0 (GITT 2.0) program focused on providing interprofessional care to complex and frail older adults with multiple chronic conditions. A concurrent triangulation mixed-methods design facilitated program implementation and evaluation. Over three years (2013-2016), 65 graduate students from nursing, midwifery, social work, and pharmacy participated along with 25 preceptors. Participants were surveyed on their attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration pre and post-intervention and participated in focus groups. While attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration did not change quantitatively, focus groups revealed changes in language and enhanced perspectives of participants. Based on the evaluation data, the GITT 2.0 Toolkit was refined for use in interprofessional education and practice activities related to quality initiatives.

Qualitative Analysis of an Inter-Professional, In-Home, Community Geriatric Educational Training Program

“…This model allows for what has been described by the student participants as a rich “real world experience,” an opportunity to move “beyond the classroom” and learn with older adults. The non-institutionalized care opportunity enhances the students’ educational skills in a positive, community, home-dwelling environment with “well elderly.” Geriatric, health professions student home visit team-training is under-reported, has little variability in disciplines represented, small sample sizes, and is not well studied in the literature (Giuliante et al, 2018; Macrae, 2012; McManus, 2017; POGOe-Portal of Geriatrics Online Ed, 2016; Reilly et al, 2014; Steel, 1995). The combination of didactic and experiential curricular exposed students to the unique medical and psychosocial needs of older adults living in a non-institutional setting.…”

“…Still another study examined an osteopathic program with medical students, nurses and a variety of non-traditional health-related disciplines including athletic training, exercise science, and communication studies (McManus et al, 2017). A few smaller studies have utilized home visits as IP training sites with health professional students (Giuliante et al, 2018; Macrae, 2012; McManus et al, 2017; POGOe-Portal of Geriatrics Online Ed, 2016; Reilly et al, 2014).…”

Geriatric Resource Teams: Equipping Primary Care Practices to Meet the Complex Care Needs of Older Adults

“…Many programs strive to improve the care of older adults in primary care with system changes or processes with variable degrees of success [15,16]. The GRT program was unique in that there was an emphasis on team formation and webinars on geriatric principles and community resources coupled with mentoring by geriatric experts.…”

Provider Perspectives of Medication Complexity in Home Health Care: A Qualitative Secondary Data Analysis

“…The parent study was an interprofessional intervention based in home care where US-based teams of NPs, social workers, and pharmacists and their student trainees provided in-depth reviews of medically complex older adult medication regimens (Giuliante et al, 2018). The implementation fidelity framework for complex interventions in health care structured the evaluation process of the parent study (Carroll et al, 2007;Hasson, 2010).…”