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P OSTER
A BSTRACTS
IPE are generally positive and show little change after IPE. Attitudes
toward team care may be a more sensitive interim measure of IPE efficacy
(Rose et al). The Health Mentors Program (HMP) is a 2-year
longitudinal curriculum that brings entry-level interprofessional
teams of students together with a Health Mentor (a person living
with one or more chronic conditions) to learn patient-centered, teambased
care. Nearly 3,000 students have participated; 52% of Health
Mentors are age 60 or over.
Methods: Students entering HMP in Fall 2009 completed the Attitudes
Towards Interdisciplinary Teams scale (Heinemann et al) at
matriculation and at program completion in Spring 2011.
Results: A paired samples t test showed significant improvements
in mean attitude scores (scale 0-5, higher = more positive attitude)
between baseline and program completion in all disciplines
with sufficient sample size. A paired samples t test for students in all
programs (n=173) found significant improvements (p=.000) in attitudes
(baseline mean 3.27 (.45) and 3.75 (.58). ANOVA showed no
significant differences between groups.
Conclusions: The gold standard for measuring impact of IPE is
clearly improvement in patient outcomes. However, given the long
time-delay from entry into health professions training to independent
practice, interim measures to assess program outcomes are essential.
Improved attitudes toward team-based care may be one important
indicator of program success. A limitation of this study is lack of a
control group of students not exposed to formal IPE. Next steps include
measuring attitudes longitudinally during the remainder of
training and into clinical practice.
Rose M, et al. Attitudes of students in medicine, nursing, occupational
and physical therapy toward interprofessional education. J
Allied Health, 38:196-200, 2009.
Heinemann GD, et al. Development of an Attitudes Toward
Health Care Teams Scale. Eval & Health Professions, 22:123-42, 1999.
Discipline Specific Changes in Attitudes to Team-based Care
C77
Do physicians in-training assess for falls among the elderly
population in the outpatient setting?
D. Soto, 1 J. F. Fogel. 2 1. Division of Geriatrics, Montefiore Medical
Center Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY; 2. Dept of
Medicine,Division of Geriatrics, Beth Israel Medical Center, New
York, NY.
Falls are one of the most common geriatric syndromes threatening
independence and are one of the leading causes of injuries in the
older population. Patients 65 and older account for 39% Internal
Medicine (IM) ambulatory visits. There has been an impetus to incorporate
education on geriatric syndromes into IM residents curriculum.
This study aims to evaluate the assessment for falls and gait instability
provided to vulnerable elders by IM residents in an
ambulatory setting.
A retrospective chart review of total 150 randomly selected patients
followed by IM residents for one year period was conducted.
Inclusion criteria: >65 years of age, attendance at ambulatory clinic
for at least one year and treated only by in-training physicians. The
electronic medical records of these patients were reviewed for any
question regarding falls, past medical history including co-morbidities
and gait abnormalities as a problem, number of falls and consequences,
use of psychoactive medications. Physical exam was reviewed
for evidence of gait assessment.
Documentation of fall inquiry was noted in 25% (38) of records.
Of the 38 records gait was recorded in 12 occasions (P