The Interdisciplinary Geriatric/Gerontological Team in the Academic Setting

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Social Work Education
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Geriatric healthcare necessitates interdisciplinary teams for comprehensive elder care.
• Current geriatric social work education lacks focus on functional interdisciplinary team development.
• Recognized need for effective team collaboration in elder care settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the process of developing functional interdisciplinary health care teams.
• To identify challenges and steps for creating viable teams in geriatric care.
• To examine the role of academic interdisciplinary teams as a model.

Main Methods:

• Case study of an academic interdisciplinary team.
• Analysis of team development stages: goal development, group affiliation, team awareness, goal evaluation.
• Review of issues such as disparate terminologies and administrative differentials.

Main Results:

• Interdisciplinary teams face challenges like differing terminologies and administrative hurdles.
• Academic teams risk becoming ineffective without structured development.
• Successful team development requires navigating distinct stages.

Conclusions:

• Geriatric social work education must integrate interdisciplinary team training.
• Addressing team dynamics and challenges is key to effective geriatric care.
• Interdisciplinary teams significantly impact faculty, students, and academic environments.