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Each person’s death is unique and each person has his/her own understanding, views and attitudes toward death. Participate in this module to learn about death and dying within a social, cultural and personal context. Participants will identify the signs of impending death, non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic approaches to managing symptoms during the dying process, become familiar with “The Conversation” for assisting with end of life decisions and appreciate the value of the clinicians’ “Pause” at the time of death.

The need to reduce the costs of care for the chronically ill has led to the exploration of ways to provide increasingly more complex care in the home, rather than extending hospital stays or institutionalization. Studies indicate that interprofessional home care teams are able to provide comprehensive patient-centered care to community dwelling medically complex older adults with comparable or better clinical outcomes.

A significant proportion (60-80%) of people prefer to die in their home, however few Americans (24%) have the opportunity to die at home. Participate in this module to learn the key elements and services of hospice and palliative care, and management of end of life symptoms. This module is designed to help multidisciplinary learners acquire communication skills to effectively deliver bad news, and discuss advance directives, including end of life decisions, using a shared decision making process.

The pillars of preventative geriatric care include screening, counseling and immunizations. Participate in this module to learn about national guideline recommendations for screening older adults, screening special populations, such as veterans, and strategies for counseling older adults about nutrition, exercise, and social connectivity. Learn which immunizations are recommended for older adults and what preventative services are available.

Medication management has a great impact on patient outcomes including reduction of emergency department visits, decreases of serious drug events, reduction of healthcare expenditures, and decreases of medication related problems. Medication management may be completed across a variety of settings by the interprofessional team. Participate in this module to learn about medication review, medication therapy management (MTM), and comprehensive medication management (CMM).

Polypharmacy and adverse drug events are common in older adults and occur across care settings. Participate in this module to learn about polypharmacy consequences in older adults, practice implications of non-adherence and polypharmacy, common drug-drug and drug-food interactions, and common adverse drug events in older adults. Learn practical approaches to improving medication prescribing and monitoring.

Delirium and depression may coexist but are not the same diagnosis. Among the older adult population depression may often be confused with delirium or dementia. Participate in this module to better understand the difference between delirium and depression in older adults and learn the standardized tools for measuring cognitive, behavioral, and/or mood changes. Acquire successful strategies for managing delirium and depression using pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic approaches.

Delirium and depression may coexist but are not the same diagnosis. Among the older adult population depression may often be confused with delirium or dementia. Participate in this module to better understand the difference between delirium and depression in older adults and learn the standardized tools for measuring cognitive, behavioral, and/or mood changes. Acquire successful strategies for managing delirium and depression using pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic approaches.

Total health and wellness are inextricably linked to oral health. Participate in this module to understand the unique oral health needs of the older adult and how to assess and manage common oral health problems. Learn about the impact oral disease has on the physical, psychological, social and economic health and well-being of older adults.

An increasing number of people are living with Multiple Chronic Conditions (MCC). These older adults with MCC experience a high level of “illness burden” (poor quality of life, depression, “treatment burden” (multiple uncoordinated visits, polypharmacy) and lack of person-centered care (low continuity, lack of focus on patients’ priorities). This module covers optimizing care for older adults with MCC by reducing treatment burden and unplanned care.