TY - JOUR
T1 - Training occupational therapists in the care of the elderly with dementia and their caregivers
T2 - Focus on collaboration
AU - Gitlin, Laura N.
AU - Corcoran, Mary
N1 - Funding Information:
Through a funded grant sponsored by TirLawyn, a geriatric consortium of academic and service institutions, 4 undergraduate occupational therapy students were trained by an interdisciplinary team of faculty from the College of Allied Health Sciences and the Jefferson Long-Term Care Institute (JLTCI) at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. An intensive 9-month, 4-credit program was designed to move students through three phases of professional development: (a) a comprehensive knowledge base of the individual, the aging process, the influence of the physical and social environment in the home, and the collaborative process with the informal network; (b) participation and collaboration with an interdisciplinary care team including professional and nonprofessional formal providers; and (c) dissemination of information about the training and service models in a variety of settings. Figure 1 provides a graphic representation of the structure of the program. Training was modeled on Bruner's (1960) approach to education where knowledge and skill become increasingly more complex and
Funding Information:
The training program reported in this article was funded in part by TirLawyn, a geriatric consortium. A form of this article was presented at the 70th Annual Meeting of the American Occupation Therapy Association, New Orleans, LA, April, 1990.
PY - 1991
Y1 - 1991
N2 - In this article we describe a funded, innovative field-based training program for senior occupational therapy students to provide a state-of-the-art service model to the elderly and their caregivers in the home. The 9-month program addresses the urgent need for advanced training in collaborative, caregiver-centered treatment approaches that focus on the environmental forces shaping behavior and management practices. Students progress through three phases of professional development: (a) understanding the aging process, assessment and treatment in the home, and collaboration with informal providers (the caregivers), (b) collaboration with formal providers while comparing and contrasting one’s own professional role with other professional roles, and (c) dissemination of information about the training and service model at local and state conferences. Under closely supervised field-based experiences, students refine their knowledge base through the development and implementation of interventions and in-services for older adults, their caregivers, and formal care providers in a variety of settings: the client’s heme, adult day-care centers, clinics, and professional conferences. Evaluations from caregivers demonstrate the effectiveness of the program and the importance of training students in a service model that focuses on collaboration and the environmental forces that shape behavior.
AB - In this article we describe a funded, innovative field-based training program for senior occupational therapy students to provide a state-of-the-art service model to the elderly and their caregivers in the home. The 9-month program addresses the urgent need for advanced training in collaborative, caregiver-centered treatment approaches that focus on the environmental forces shaping behavior and management practices. Students progress through three phases of professional development: (a) understanding the aging process, assessment and treatment in the home, and collaboration with informal providers (the caregivers), (b) collaboration with formal providers while comparing and contrasting one’s own professional role with other professional roles, and (c) dissemination of information about the training and service model at local and state conferences. Under closely supervised field-based experiences, students refine their knowledge base through the development and implementation of interventions and in-services for older adults, their caregivers, and formal care providers in a variety of settings: the client’s heme, adult day-care centers, clinics, and professional conferences. Evaluations from caregivers demonstrate the effectiveness of the program and the importance of training students in a service model that focuses on collaboration and the environmental forces that shape behavior.
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U2 - 10.1080/0360127910170606
DO - 10.1080/0360127910170606
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0008575462
SN - 0360-1277
VL - 17
SP - 591
EP - 605
JO - Educational Gerontology
JF - Educational Gerontology
IS - 6
ER -