Here - American Geriatrics Society

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A BSTRACTS
derstanding the patient’s medical history, baseline cognitive and
physical functionality, home medications, and social situation.
Conclusion:
CIR served as a useful tool to assess interns’ learning in a geriatrics
rotation. Interns appear to be gaining knowledge and skills in
keys areas of Geriatrics and are able to articulate how they would
use these knowledge and skills in the future to better care for elderly
patients.
D53
WWAMI Residency Graduates’ Self-reported Preparedness and
Practice Before and After Implementation of a Family Medicine
Residency Continuity Nursing Home Requirement.
J. Raetz, J. Osborn, P. Ford, N. Stevens. Family Medicine, University of
Washington, Seattle, WA.
Background:
Current GME programs will not produce enough geriatricians
to meet the needs of the aging population. Primary care physicians
must receive adequate training to fill this gap. In 2005 the Accreditation
Council for Graduate Medical Education revised the requirements
for family medicine residency training programs to include a
two year continuity nursing home experience. Residents must care
for at least two nursing home patients over a minimum of 24 consecutive
months. The WWAMI Network consists of 18 family medicine
residencies in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho.
The WWAMII region routinely surveys graduates from the residency
network to characterize preparedness and practice. We examined this
survey data to see if any measurable change could be seen in graduate
preparedness and practice after implementation of the new nursing
home continuity requirement.
Methods:
We examined responses to the questions, “prepared for practice?”
(5 point likert scale) and, “part of my practice?” (yes/no) under
the section, “care of adults: nursing home” for graduates between the
years 1997 and 2009. We then compared responses of physicians who
graduated in 2007 or later with those who graduated prior to 2007.
Results:
Overall self-reported preparedness for nursing home practice
was good and improved slightly after implementation of the ACGME
requirement for a nursing home continuity experience. 795 graduates
between 1997 and 2006 reported level of preparedness for nursing
home care on the five point likert scale (average 3.51). 243 graduates
between 2007 and 2009 reported level of preparedness for nursing
home care on the five point likert scale (average 3.81). Practice in
nursing homes decreased in the same time period. Of the 738 responses
of graduates between 1997 and 2006, 46.39% practiced in
nursing homes. Of the 233 responses of graduates between 2007 and
2009, 28.01% practiced in nursing homes.
Conclusions:
A two year continuity nursing home experience in residency is
associated with improvement in self-reported preparedness to practice
in nursing homes. However, in the same time period fewer graduates
are practicing in nursing homes. More research is needed to identify
factors that increase the number of physicians practicing in
nursing homes to better serve our aging population.
D54
Preferences, Availability, And Quality Of Interactive Teaching
Materials Used By Geriatric Educators.
J. D. Schlaudecker, 1 S. Talebreza, 2 W. Suen, 3 K. Anderson. 2 1.
Geriatrics, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH; 2. Geriatrics,
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; 3. Geriatrics, Boston
University, Boston, MA.
Supported By: Reynolds Foundation
GACA
Background:
The use of an interactive educational format has been shown to
improve integration of learned material. However few studies have
evaluated if geriatric educators are actually embracing this philosophy,
utilizing interactive teaching techniques in educational venues,
and which techniques are more commonly used.
Methods:
A cross-sectional sampling, using a 26-question Internet ‘Survey
Monkey’ survey, of geriatric educators contacted through American
Geriatrics Society listservs was performed. Participant demographics
and attitudes towards use of interactive educational modalities such
as video clips, games, role-play, and creative writing were assessed
during a two-week period in November 2011. Data was analyzed
across response categories.
Results:
141 physicians responded. 64% had a CAQ in Geriatric Medicine.
43% were past/present GACA recipients. 42% spent between ¼
and ½ of time teaching a broad array of learners. 99% agreed with the
statement: “I believe that trainees prefer interactive educational activities.”
Results demonstrated a very high preference for interactive
educational formats, but a much lower rating of quantity and quality
of available resources. For example: 95% agreed with the statement:
“I believe video clips may capture the trainees attention better than
traditional lecture format”, but 63% felt the videos currently available
were of insufficient quantity and quality, and 31% had created
their own video materials. We will also present differences between
GACA awardees, geriatricians, and different academic ranks in use of
interactive educational techniques.
Conclusion:
Educators in graduate medical education routinely utilize a variety
of interactive teaching techniques in diverse teaching settings,
yet the majority of educators felt the number of interactive resources
available were insufficient to meet their teaching needs. Promoting
online educational resource sites, such as POGOe, and encouraging
educators to submit interactive teaching material to these sites may
facilitate the increased use of more effective interactive teaching
techniques.
D55
A Training Model to Strengthen Team-based Primary Care for
Older Rural Veterans.
J. L. Howe, 1,2 J. L. Griffith. 1,2 1. Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine,
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY; 2. GRECC, James J.
Peter VAMC, Bronx, NY.
There is a severe shortage of healthcare professionals and interdisciplinary
teams trained to provide services for the growing population
of older Americans. Forty percent of Veterans live in rural areas
and require specialized geriatrics care, but rural practitioners are
often not equipped with the knowledge and team training needed to
serve complex healthcare needs. The Rural Interdisciplinary Team
Training (RITT) Program, a component of the VHA Office of Rural
Health Geriatric Scholars Program, strengthens interprofessional
teams to better serve older adults at rural VA Community Based
Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) through a multi-modal educational intervention.
Potential RITT training sites are identified through Scholars
who participate in the educational program which includes attendance
at an intensive geriatrics course and a quality improvement
project. CBOC staff participate in team-based training to enhance
communication, leadership, collaboration, conflict resolution, and
problem solving skills in the care of older Veterans. Piloted in 2011,
the RITT Program trained a total of 68 providers from five separate
teams in rural clinics located in NYS, AZ, CA, WI and AR. The validated
Team Development Measure is disseminated 30 days before
and 30 days after the training intervention in order to assess team cohesion,
communication, roles, and goals. For the RITT in WI, there
was an average increase of 15.4% on practitioners’ self-rated levels of
team development. Practitioners also complete a form 30 days after
the training asking what changes are made in their practice as a result
AGS 2012 ANNUAL MEETING
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