IDT Training Goals and Curriculum

To function well as members of an IDT, professionals-in-training must develop an understanding of the rationale for a team and learn the skills to work collaboratively with other professionals in diverse clinical settings, including the hospital, clinic, nursing home, and home.^{18, 33-36} This understanding is contingent upon having sufficient hands-on experience through role playing and working within an IDT as it actively solves problems.

Ideally, all members of an IDT will have sufficient didactic and clinical training to enable them to:

1)      Understand their respective roles and responsibilities on the team

2)      Establish common goals for the team

3)      Agree on rules for conducting team meetings

4)      Communicate well with other members of the team

5)      Identify and resolve conflict

6)      Share decision-making and execute defined tasks when consensus is reached

7)      Provide support for one another, including the development of leadership roles

8)      Be flexible in response to changing circumstances

9)      Participate in periodic team performance reviews to ensure that the team is functioning well and that its goals are being met ^{20, 32, 37-39}

Research indicates that training programs providing education in these essential areas are successful in enhancing the function and effectiveness of interdisciplinary geriatrics teams.^{15, 16, 20} A formal curriculum for team training has been developed by the Geriatric Interdisciplinary Team Training Program (GITT) of the John A. Hartford Foundation, a curriculum that includes both didactic materials and specific exercises to foster team development (see http://www.gittprogram.org). Additional IDT training materials and websites are sponsored by U.S. academic institutions and organizations, including the Bureau of Health Professions-sponsored Geriatric Education Centers (see accompanying Annotated Bibliography on Geriatrics and Gerontology Interdisciplinary Team Training).