title: Veterans Affairs Geriatric Scholars Program: Enhancing Existing Primary Care Clinician Skills in Caring for Older Veterans.
abstract: The Veterans Affairs Geriatric Scholars Program (GSP) is a continuing professional development program to integrate geriatrics into the clinical practices of primary care providers and select associated health professions that support primary care teams. GSP uses a blended program educational format, and the minimal requirements are to attend an intensive course in geriatrics, participate in an interactive workshop on quality improvement (QI), and initiate a local QI project to demonstrate application of new knowledge to benefit older veterans. Using a retrospective post/pre survey design, the effect of GSP on clinical practices and behaviors and variation of that effect on clinicians working in rural and nonrural settings were evaluated. Significant improvement was found in the frequency of using evidence-based brief standardized assessments, clinical decision-making, and standards of care. Significant subgroup differences were observed in peer-to-peer information sharing between rural and nonrural clinicians. Overall, 77% of the sample reported greater job satisfaction after participating in GSP. The program is a successful model for advancing postgraduate education in geriatrics and a model that might be replicated to increase access to quality health care, particularly in rural areas.
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California.|Division of Geriatric Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.
authors.forename: B Josea
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Kramer
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California.
authors.forename: Beth
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Creekmur
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Integrated Service Network 2, James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, New York.|Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, New York.|Department of Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, New York.
authors.forename: Judith L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Howe
authors.affiliation: New England Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Bedford Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, Massachusetts.|Department of Occupational Therapy, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts.|Productive Aging and Interprofessional Collaborative Practice, American Occupational Therapy Association, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Trudeau
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California.
authors.forename: Joseph R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Douglas
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Integrated Service Network 16, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, Little Rock, Arkansas.|Department of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas.
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Garner
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.|School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Connie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bales
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.|Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Nashville, Tennessee.
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Callaway-Lane
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, Wisconsin.|Division of Geriatrics, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Barczi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003479:Curriculum; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing / Q000592:standards*; D005853:Geriatrics / Q000193:education*; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D017145:Models, Educational; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D058996:Quality Improvement; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D014728:Veterans
keywords: 
  VA
  ; continuing professional development; education; rural