Mission
Goals
The overarching goals of the workshop are to increase provider and staff knowledge and skills in geriatrics and to provide the tools for sustained team-based approaches for quality care for older Veterans. Topics include:
History
The Rural Interdisciplinary Team Training (RITT) Program was successfully piloted at five CBOCs across the United States between June and August 2011. Pilot sites included Rome, NY; Monterey, CA; Russellville, AR; Baraboo/Beaver Dam, WI; and Globe, AZ. A total of 68 rural healthcare providers were trained during the pilot phase with an average of 11 providers participating in the training at each site. Providers who received the RITT included physicians, nurse practitioners (NPs), registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), social workers, pharmacists, occupational therapists, program support assistants, and other professional and paraprofessional staff.
All training participants were asked to complete a team self-assessment prior to the training, an end-of-day evaluation, a 30 day post-assessment survey, and a commitment to practice change. Participants cited changes in their practice as a result of the RITT such as: monitoring/assessing for red flags and geriatric syndromes, enhancing active listening skills, screening for fall risks, and increasing sensitivity when communicating about culture and learning impairments.
As of December 2023, the RITT workshop has trained over 2,200
participants from over 250 VA Medical Centers and CBOCs.
As part of the RITT evaluation, participants are asked if they are better able to recognize 9 "Red Flags" that identify when an older adult is at immediate risk (i.e., concern needs to be evaluated and addressed on day it is discovered) as compared to before the workshop. These "Red Flags: include:
92% of RITT trainees reported feeling "very confident" or "somewhat more confident" about communicating to a team member that an older Veteran is at immediate risk after participating in the workshop.
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