An Interprofessional Geriatric Clinical Skills Fair: A “Train the Trainer” Workshop

Purpose: The purpose of this “train the trainer” workshop is to provide faculty participants with the skills needed to develop, implement and measure the effectiveness of an interprofessional geriatric clinical skills fair. Background: The need to expand geriatric education for health professionals at all levels of training has been well described (1). Geriatric clinical skills fairs are a fun, interactive way for student learners to gain practical, evidence-based skills and knowledge pertaining to the care of older adults and provide an ideal opportunity to introduce interprofessional education for health professions students. Description of Intervention or Program: This “train the trainer” workshop will introduce faculty to developing and implementing an interprofessional geriatric clinical skills fair at their own institution. Workshop participants will engage in six interactive stations addressing cognitive assessment, gait evaluation, older patient simulation, medication management, code status conversation, and disposition discussion. Each station will run for 10 minutes and will include time for debriefing to review and discuss learning objectives and teaching methods. The six stations will be led by experienced interprofessional faculty facilitators, including a geriatrician, palliative care specialist, clinical pharmacist, occupational therapist, and physical therapist. After completing the simulated “fair” portion of the workshop, faculty participants will be introduced to a method for evaluating the effectiveness of a clinical skills fair and will have the opportunity to share teaching strategies and ideas for successful implementation. Results: Interactive “train the trainer” programs are an effective method for faculty development and can assist in the wide dissemination of innovations in education to prevent “reinventing the wheel.” By engaging in a simulated geriatric clinical skills fair and debriefing with interprofessional faculty, participants will be able to implement and measure a similar skills fair at their own institutions. Conclusion/Relevance to interprofessional education: Based on our own experience, Interprofessional Geriatric Clinical Skills Fairs are highly rated by learners at various levels of training from multiple professions. These fairs can serve as a fun and effective method for providing education addressing geriatric competencies and should be implemented at more institutions as a way to introduce interprofessional education. Reference: InstituteofMedicineof the National Academies. Retooling for an AgingAmerica: Building the Health Care Workforce.Washington,DC: The National Academies Press; 2008. Learning Objectives: By participating in this interactive “train the trainer” workshop, participants will: 1. Practice teaching skills related to Interprofessional Education and geriatric competencies 2. Formulate an Action Plan and prepare to introduce an Interprofessional Geriatric Clinical Skills Fair at their own institutions 3. Review measurement strategies and choose one method to measure the effectiveness of an Interprofessional Geriatric Clinical Skills Fai