The underlying rationale to support interdisciplinary collaboration in geriatrics and gerontology is based on the complexity of elderly care. The most important characteristic about interdisciplinary health care teams for older people in Latin America is their subjective-basis framework. In other regions, teams are organized according to a…

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to understand better the clinical collaboration process among primary care physicians (PCPs), case managers (CMs), and geriatricians in integrated models of care. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study with semistructured interviews. A purposive sample of 35 PCPs, 7 CMs, and 4 geriatricians was selected in…

Although several interprofessional education projects have addressed training allied health students for effective teamwork in geriatrics, few curriculum evaluation studies have examined differences in learning outcomes between interprofessional and traditional uniprofessional approaches, especially for social work students. This paper compares…

Quality improvement (QI) initiatives are critical in the care of older adults who are more vulnerable to substandard care. QI education meets aspects of core Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education competencies and prepares learners for the rising focus on performance measurement in health care. The authors developed, implemented, and…

The purpose of the ELDER (Expanded Learning and Dedication to Elders in the Region) Project was to address the needs of underserved older adults by providing worksite education to individuals who provide nursing care to older adults in community health centers, home health agencies, and long-term care facilities. Four agencies located in a Health…

In a previous ethnographic study (Sebrant, 2000) a social constructionist view of how social identity is produced among professional groups in Swedish healthcare was developed. Looking at the workplace as an important environment for identity construction suggested that these processes were conditions for learning. The purpose of this paper is to…

Interdisciplinary teams are loosely coupled (systems in which elements are weakly, infrequently, or informally linked). Applying loosely coupled systems theory to team training increases its effectiveness, because learning activities may be disjointed and learning goals may diverge. (SK)

Health care workers at eight sites were trained to serve on interdisciplinary geriatric care teams. Challenges included differing levels of experience and geriatric knowledge, discipline specific-language and practice philosophies, and scheduling conflicts. Techniques to overcome them included case studies, standardized patients, cross-discipline…

Social and academic values emphasizing individualism, competition, and unidisciplinary thinking affect the development of interdisciplinary programs. Interdisciplinary health care teams must be concerned with interprofessional and professional-client relationships and shared team values, which should be addressed in gerontological and geriatric…

Compares training of self-directed work teams in business with the potential of interdisciplinary teams in geriatrics. Possible pitfalls in conforming to the health care culture, obtaining management commitment, and dealing with the diversity and independence of health care professionals reflect the need for deep commitment to team development.…

Examined use of Geriatric Consultation Team in acute care hospital among 185 older veterans. Intervention patients were more likely than controls to have recommendations concerning discharge planning and long-term care. Groups had similar discharge placements. Preadmission location, functional status, mental status, occurrence of hospital-acquired…

A Finnish nursing home's team development process included brainstorming on the characteristics of good teams, profiling of team members' nursing skills, analysis of tasks, and identification of ways to improve work quality and information flow to residents. Team building required clarification of work structures, determination of the…

In a geriatrics course 15 undergraduates participated in problem-based tutorials on interprofessional health-care teamwork during clinical placement. Compared with 15 controls, the experimental group showed significantly greater knowledge but no difference in perceptions of interprofessional functions. (SK)

Examines geriatric health teams, discussing four dimensions of models for professional functioning (logic of assessment, focus of efforts, locus of responsibility, and pace of action) and three dimensions of models for team functioning (focus of attention, decision-making style, and beliefs about interprofessional dependence). (Author/NB)

Training of geriatrics clinicians in interdisciplinary teamwork included group dynamics, conflict management, leadership, and team building. Pre/posttest data from eight teams identified challenges in defining teams, stabilizing membership, dealing with health care changes, and coping with stress. Training objectives were revised to include…