People living with dementia are vulnerable to inequitable care related to ageism and ableism. In the inpatient setting, these patients are at nutritional risk due to high rates of delirium, impaired communication, and dysphagia. Specialized team-based, interprofessional approaches to care can improve nutrition, but many providers and staff are not aware of these. In this talk, we will describe an interprofessional curriculum to address this.Our educational team includes an occupational therapist, registered dietitian, speech-language pathologists, geriatrician, nurses, and a physician assistant. Learners included medical, nursing, and physician assistant students, and geriatric medicine fellows. Four one-hour sessions were held online, each involving pre-work, didactics, interprofessional small group discussion, and skill development. Person-centered care was a unifying theme throughout the sessions.Our course features the real story of Louise, a woman with dementia, and her daughter Sandra. We created a video in which Sandra described her mother’s experience with dementia and malnutrition, which were addressed by the interprofessional hospital team. Her care focused on optimizing quality of life and giving Sandra the tools and skills to better care for her mother. Based on this case, our course covered four topics: approach to dementia care, malnutrition and mealtime assistance, caregiver support, and interprofessional practice.Educational outcomes included dementia and malnutrition knowledge, interprofessional socialization, and clinical practice addressing malnutrition, measured in pre- and post-course assessments. In this pilot, most learners demonstrated stability or improvement in these areas, except for knowledge about malnutrition, where scores trended slightly down. Learners requested more discussion time and in-person skills development.We will modify this curriculum for future cohorts to improve our measured outcomes and meet learners’ needs. We also will expand our audience to include a broad range of people who care for older adults, such as people working in skilled nursing facilities and outpatient settings.
In support of improving patient care, this activity is planned and implemented by The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education Office of Interprofessional Continuing Professional Development (OICPD). The OICPD is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
As a Jointly Accredited Provider, the OICPD is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. The OICPD maintains responsibility for this course. Social workers completing this course receive continuing education credits.
This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credit for learning and change.
Physicians: The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education designates this live activity for AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.
Physician Assistants: The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) accepts credit from organizations accredited by the ACCME.
Nurses: Participants will be awarded contact hours of credit for attendance at this workshop.
Nurse Practitioners: The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Program (AANPCP) accepts credit from organizations accredited by the ACCME and ANCC.
Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians: This activity is approved for contact hours.
Social Workers: As a Jointly Accredited Organization, the National Center is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. The National Center maintains responsibility for this course. Social workers completing this course receive continuing education credits.
IPCE: This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credits for learning and change
