October / November / December • Issue 4 • 2017
Elizabeth Peterson , PhD , OTR / L , FAOTA Michael Koronkowski , Pharm D
Memoona Hasnain , MD , MHPE , PhD Valerie Gruss , PhD , APN , CNP-BC
UIC ’ s Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program “ ENGAGE-IL ” Leads to Educational Opportunities for Occupational Therapy Practitioners
Interprofessional education ( IPE ) is increasingly recognized as an essential component of training for many health professions , including occupational therapy . Educational standards set forth by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education ( ACOTE ®) for occupational therapy assistant and occupational therapy programs at both the master ’ s and doctoral levels include IPErelated expected learning outcomes for students . This is not surprising . Together , the U . S . patient safety movement , along with Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act initiatives focus on the value and quality of medical services , as opposed to the volume of care provided , and create an imperative for IPE and interprofessional ( IP ) collaborative practice ( Dow & Thibault , 2017 ; Case-Smith , Page , Darragh , Rybski , & Cleary , 2014 ). IPE is especially important to support health care providers ’ effectiveness in the area of gerontology . The health and well-being of older adults is dependent upon the delicate interplay among physical , psychosocial and contextual factors . Health care team members can work collaboratively as a means to reduce errors , improve the quality of care , and control health care costs ( WHO , 2010 ).
Barriers to IPE in gerontology range from the paucity of available programs and the breadth of topics to be covered , to the complex logistics of coordinating schedules to allow for meaningful IP learning experiences . Recognizing the challenges and the need for resources to support expertise in geriatrics among diverse health care professionals , educators at the University of Illinois at Chicago ( UIC ) sought and secured a 3-year , $ 2.5 million grant titled ENGAGE-IL ( ENhancement of Geriatric Care for All through TraininG and Empowerment ). The project was funded by the Health Resources & Service Administration ( HRSA ) as part of HRSA ’ s Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program ( GWEP ) which aims to integrate geriatrics into primary care .
The ENGAGE-IL funding has supported a number of geriatric IPE efforts at UIC , including an interprofessional Scholars and Leaders in Geriatrics course ( offered in 2016 and 2017 ) for occupational therapy students from the College of Applied Health Sciences and students from the Colleges of Medicine , Nursing , Pharmacy and Social Work . The course is designed to enable students to acquire attitudes , values as well as attain core competencies necessary for comprehensive , patient-and familycentered geriatric care in teams , and provides e x p e r i e n t i a l learning across various clinical and communitybased settings . The course assignments and debriefing opportunities facilitated students ’ reflections on a range of topics including scope of practice across disciplines , characteristics of effective team-work , health care disparities , leadership , advocacy and ethics .
The target audience for ENGAGE-IL ’ s educational efforts extends beyond UIC students . The ENGAGE-IL team has launched the Online Accredited Learning Interprofessional Geriatrics Program ( OALIG ). The program consists of a library of free , on-line continuing education ( CE ) modules on topics related to gerontology . These topics include , but are not limited to the aging process , falls among communitydwelling older adults , caregiver burden , common acquired hospital complications , community services , and payment systems , pain management , and sleep quality . To date , 20 education modules have been developed and are available at engageil . com , with more modules being developed each month . Most of the modules are 30 minutes in length , and all were developed , written , and reviewed by interprofessional content experts .
UIC ENGAGE-IL is an AOTA Approved Provider (# 10173 )*, and occupational therapy practitioners around the country can earn CE credit for completing the modules . The
Continued on Page 7
Page
October / November / December • Issue 4 • 2017
Elizabeth Peterson, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Michael Koronkowski, Pharm D
Memoona Hasnain, MD, MHPE, PhD
Valerie Gruss, PhD, APN, CNP-BC
UIC’s Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program “ENGAGE-IL” Leads
to Educational Opportunities for Occupational Therapy Practitioners
Interprofessional education (IPE) is increasingly
recognized as an essential component of training for
many health professions, including occupational therapy.
Educational standards set forth by the Accreditation
Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE®)
for occupational therapy assistant and occupational therapy
programs at both the master’s and doctoral levels include IPE-
related expected learning outcomes for students. This is not
surprising. Together, the U.S. patient safety movement, along
with Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act initiatives
focus on the value and quality of medical services, as opposed
to the volume of care provided, and create an imperative for
IPE and interprofessional (IP) collaborative practice (Dow
& Thibault, 2017; Case-Smith, Page, Darragh, Rybski, &
Cleary, 2014). IPE is especially important to support health
care providers’ effectiveness in the area of gerontology. The
health and well-being of older adults is dependent upon the
delicate interplay among physical, psychosocial and contextual
factors. Health care team members can work collaboratively
as a means to reduce errors, improve the quality of care, and
control health care costs (WHO, 2010).
Barriers to IPE in gerontology range from the paucity of
available programs and the breadth of topics to be covered,
to the complex logistics of coordinating schedules to allow
for meaningful IP learning experiences. Recognizing the
challenges and the need for resources to support expertise in
geriatrics among diverse health care professionals, educators
at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) sought and
secured a 3-year, $2.5 million grant titled ENGAGE-IL
(ENhancement of Geriatric Care for All through TraininG
and Empowerment). The project was funded by the Health
Resources & Service Administration (HRSA) as part of HRSA’s
Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) which
aims to integrate geriatrics into primary care.
The ENGAGE-IL funding has supported a number of
geriatric IPE efforts at UIC, including an interprofessional
Scholars and Leaders in Geriatrics course (offered in 2016 and
2017) for occupational therapy students from the College of
Applied Health Sciences and students from the Colleges of
Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Social Work. The course is
designed to enable
students to acquire
attitudes,
values
as well as attain
core competencies
necessary
for
comprehensive,
patient-and family-
centered geriatric
care in teams,
and
provides
experiential
learning
across
various
clinical
and community-
based settings. The
course assignments
and
debriefing
opportunities facilitated students’ reflections on a range
of topics including scope of practice across disciplines,
characteristics of effective team-work, health care disparities,
leadership, advocacy and ethics.
The target audience for ENGAGE-IL’s educational efforts
extends beyond UIC students. The ENGAGE-IL team has
launched the Online Accredited Learning Interprofessional
Geriatrics Program (OALIG). The program consists of a
library of free, on-line continuing education (CE) modules
on topics related to gerontology. These topics include, 'WB&PBƖ֗FVBFFRvr&6W72f2r6VGЦGvVƖrFW"GVG26&VvfW"'W&FV67V[email protected]7F6Ɩ6F26VG6W'f6W2BV@77FV2vVVBB6VWVƗGFFFR# VGV6FGVW2fR&VVFWfVVBB&Rf&PBVvvV6vF&RGVW2&VrFWfVVBV6F7BbFRGVW2&R3֖WFW2VwF@vW&RFWfVVBw&GFVB&WfWvVB'FW'&fW766FVBWW'G2T2TttRԔ2D&fVB&fFW 3s2B67WFFW&&7FFW'2&VBFP6VG'6V&4R7&VFBf"6WFrFRGVW2FP6FVVBvRpvR