Interprofessional student-led outreach to high-risk older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

In response to a statewide stay-at-home order during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Seniors Clinic launched an interprofessional student-led, telephone-based outreach initiative targeting older adults deemed high risk for social isolation. The initiative primarily aimed to enhance students’ geriatric and interprofessional education during a time when clinical learning opportunities were limited, as well as supporting geriatric patients and providers through outreach during the COVID-19 quarantine period. Nurse practitioner, medical, and pharmacy students participated in virtual patient contact, geriatric case-based learning, and team-based interprofessional development. We conducted pre-and post-outreach assessments with students and geriatric providers to determine the effects of this initiative. After participating in the 3-month outreach initiative, interprofessional students reported increased confidence in conducting outreach calls, participating in interdisciplinary team discussions, and reviewing geriatric cases. This student-led telephone-based outreach to older adults improved students’ exposure to and confidence with interprofessional teamwork and geriatric medicine. Our experience can inform future interprofessional initiatives to improve outreach to populations affected by public health emergencies.

KEYWORDS:

• Interprofessional
• outreach
• geriatric
• Covid-19
• medical education

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr. Robert Schwartz, University of Colorado Geriatric Division Head; Dr. Bennett Parnes, Medical Director of the Seniors Clinic; Dr. Leigh Small, Associate Dean of Academic Programs for the University of Colorado College of Nursing; Dr. Kim Paxton, Specialty Director of the Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Program; Dr. Krista Estes, Associate Professor at University of Colorado College of Nursing; the Clinical Pharmacy team of the Seniors Clinic including Dr. Danielle Fixen and Dr. Sunny Linnebur; and Dr. Roderick Nairn, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, for approving student involvement in this initiative; all student volunteers for supporting older adults; all faculty and staff at the Seniors Clinic for responding to additional consults; and UCHealth’s IT services team for establishing remote EMR access for students.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Author Contributions

All authors contributed in study concept and design, data acquisition, analysis and interpretation, and preparation of manuscript.