Gerontology across the professions and across the Atlantic

Project summary

Short-Term Goal: Develop and Pilot Interprofessional Course

The initial and immediate goal of this proposed project will be to develop and pilot an interprofessional, graduate-level (post-vocational and Master’s) course on the interprofessional care of older adults, to be offered in a hybrid model (combination of electronic, online and traditional, face-to-face) in the Spring semester of 2015. The initial group of students to be recruited for this course will be those at the post-vocational and Master’s level from the four participating academic institutions that are from a variety of the health and social care professions and interested in gerontology and geriatrics. We anticipate that 2-3 students and 1-2 faculty members from each academic institution will participate initially in this project (with possible expansion as the program grows successfully). The course to be piloted for this proposed project will be developed collaboratively by the faculty involved from the participating universities. It will focus on both interprofessional care and older adults, andthe content will reflect the combined experience and expertise of those involved. The focus will be a comparative one on Norway, Canada, and the US, and incorporate reading and literature on health care research and services from all three countries. The course will culminate in a face-to-face meeting of student and faculty participants at Bergen University College in May, 2015.

Long-Term Goals: Continued Collaboration and Academic Exchange

At the end of the week-long experiential component, faculty, students, and Buskerud and Bergen University College administrators will meet to discuss next steps for the continuation of the course and the expansion of activities supported by the academic network. This will include scheduling the next offering of the course (time and location), as well as the development of other faculty and student projects. Thus, the long-term goal of this proposed program will be to create an innovative and comprehensive academic exchange among graduate students and faculty at the collaborating institutions from Norway, Canada, and the US. We envision this pilot course to be the first, concrete step in this direction, and as the foundation for the continued development of exchanges and joint projects. For students, this project represents the opportunity to participate in an experience that opens new avenues of understanding of what interprofessional collaboration in the care of older adults is and how it can be achieved. In addition, insights into how different countries and societies frame the health issues of older adults and design programs to address them will enhance appreciation for how social and cultural context shape the experience of aging and service utilization. For faculty, we envision the development of proposals for Fulbright scholar exchanges, further joint course development, and collaboration on scholarship and related activities (including education and research projects).

The long-term intellectual outcomes of this project will be the development of a core of health care professional leaders who will have an understanding of differing national, economic, and political contexts and how they shape aging and health care. Students from this program will also become leaders in knowing how to foster interprofessional teamwork in clinical settings. They will be prepared for the increasingly global impacts of the aging process on health and social care systems, whether in the North American or the European context.

Method

Kvalitativ og kvantitativ evalueringsforskning av det pedagogiske opplegg og læring ved dette internasjonale hybrid nettbasert- og samlingsbasert kurs i tverrprofesjonell gerontologi.