Step-by-Step Guide to Better Care for Residents and More Engaged Staff Members

A FREE online toolkit launched this week provides aged care managers and administrators with the first comprehensive guide for implementing an interprofessional education (IPE) program for students and staff at their facility. 

Interprofessional education - when aged care professionals take part in a program to learn from and about each other in order to improve collaboration and quality of resident care - has been shown to provide numerous benefits in these settings, including:

• Increased support and social contact for residents through increased one-on-one and group activities and therapy
• Increased knowledge and capacity of facility staff through additional training opportunities and knowledge sharing by students of recent professional developments
• Increased positive perceptions of working in aged care from students, with students reporting they were more likely to consider a career in aged care following an IPE placement

The IPEAC Toolkit (‘Interprofessional Education in Aged Care Toolkit’) was developed by aged care providers Brightwater Care Group in Perth and Helping Hand in Adelaide, and funded by the NHMRC’s Cognitive Decline Partnership Centre, following an evaluation of the benefits of IPE programs run within these organisations over several years.

The IPEAC Toolkit covers:

• Steps to set up an IPE program
• Getting staff on board
• Contacting students
• Ensuring adequate supervision
• Continuous improvement
• Setting up a collaborative space
• Communicating with residents, staff and families about the program
• Numerous supporting resources available to download and print

Free training is also available Australia-wide to support facilities in implementing an IPE program. The IPEAC Toolkit is available now at www.brightwatergroup.com/IPEAC-Toolkit. For more information contact IPEAC Project Coordinator Jane Harrup-Gregory on (08) 9202 2800 or jane.harrup@brightwatergroup.com.