Embodied Labs works at the intersection of virtual reality storytelling and healthcare workforce training to create experiences where trainees learn from embodying the perspective of the patient and members of the patient's care team. Ninety-four second-year medical students were selected to pilot a virtual reality (VR) geriatric immersion prior…

A total of 8 geriatric medicine fellows participated in an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) assessing communication skills and clinical reasoning in common geriatric syndromes. To determine their perceptions about the experience, we conducted surveys and semistructured interviews. We analyzed the survey data using descriptive…

Obtaining a valid informed consent from an elderly person, especially with possible senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type, first may involve solving the practical problems of effective communication. Impediments to effective communication with these individuals is discussed and suggestions for how to obviate them are given. (Author/BL)

Traditionally, the treatment of geriatric patients suffering from Organic Brain Syndrome (OBS) has been characterized by non-therapeutic custodial care. To determine whether elderly clients with dementia can benefit from self-care skill training, and to compare their progress with clients without OBS, 30 clients of the Residential Aging Program in…

Successful management of the elderly patient is related in part to how effectively he and members of the health care team can communicate with each other. If comprehension and/or expressive abilities are impaired, as they frequently are in the geriatric population, then efficient patient management becomes difficult. Unfortunately, this difficulty…

The Duke University School of Medicine has a unique curriculum in which students complete basic sciences in year 1 and clinical clerkships in year 2, making way for an entire year of independent study in year 3. Into this compact curriculum, education in geriatrics has been successfully introduced through focused exercises and activities…

A one week rotation in home health care for the aged, included in a required clinical clerkship, provided students with exposure to medical, social, and economic influences on the elderly and provided the patient with nondispensing pharmaceutical services. Improved communication skills and knowledge of geriatric drugs and diseases resulted. (MSE)

The purpose of this booklet is to offer some guidelines for inservice educators who are interested in teaching human relationships and communication skills in nursing homes. Getting It All Together (GIAT) was developed for people to improve their basic communication skills through a new approach to communication and interpersonal relationships. It…

Components of instruction and exercises in humanistic health care added to an interdisciplinary pharmacy course on the geriatric patient are described. Included in the coursework are values and attitudes concerning elderly people, interpersonal communication skills, and special psychological and social complexities of old age. (MSE)

A method for increasing interaction between students and older adults in a geriatric pharmacy course uses an instructional module on stereotypes, age and personality, role changes, and nursing home living. The course requires students to conduct a life review of someone over age 65. The exercise improves student communication skills and…

A clinical geriatric pharmacy clerkship containing three separate practice areas (long-term, acute, and ambulatory care) is described. The program follows the medical education clerkship protocol, with a clinical pharmacy specialist, pharmacy practice resident, and student. Participation in medical rounds, interdisciplinary conferences, and…

This curriculum for training geriatric service workers is designed to incorporate additional communication and group skills along with the basic knowledge and skills necessary to work with older adults. The curriculum is organized in four modules. Each module is assigned a time frame and a credit unit base. The modules are divided into four major…

This manual, which is intended for use in conducting individualized inservice training sessions for certified nurse aides employed in nursing homes and boarding homes throughout Maine, contains three sections of learning experiences designed to help health care workers better understand and deal with "difficult" behavior on the part of…

This manual is intended to acquaint the faculty of physician assistant (PA) training programs with a model geriatric clerkship and to assist them in the process in implementing a similar clerkship. A detailed outline of the curriculum goals of a geriatric clerkship is included. The next section contains curriculum units on the following topics:…

This manual, which is intended for use in conducting individualized inservice training sessions for certified nurse aides employed in nursing homes and boarding homes throughout Maine, contains six learning modules designed to help health care workers better meet the needs of elderly nursing home residents who are challenged with mental illness.…