AGE-u-cate Training Institute Blog

Patients with dementia form a fast-increasing proportion of those entering hospice care. Is your staff prepared to compassionately care for the unique needs of people living with dementia?

Anyone reading this will understand the chaos that aging service providers have experienced in recent years. I'm sure you will agree that the pandemic's domino effect on staffing shortages is nothing short of excruciating. Thankfully, it has prompted stakeholders to think outside the box, re-look at their practices and reboot. 

Aging Service Providers across the spectrum are well aware of the social isolation and loneliness public health crisis among older adults, especially people living with dementia. 

According to IHS (Indian Health Service), cognitive impairment and dementia affect individuals and families in all tribal and urban Indian communities. The prevalence will increase dramatically as the population ages. By 2060, the number of American Indian and Alaska Native people aged 65 and older living with memory loss is projected to grow over five times. This funding opportunity provides greater flexibility and enhanced access for new awardees to address their communities’ unique and growing needs.

Dementia training and education are all the buzz these days. We need to better prepare our workforce, families, and communities for rapidly rising rates of people living with dementia. How do we tackle this public health priority as we move forward in creating dementia-friendly societies? To better prepare our workforce, families, and communities for this public health priority, we need innovative approaches. One such approach that has shown great promise is experiential learning, which offers a unique and effective way to educate and empower care partners, families, and communities to create dementia-friendly societies.

Let's first discuss the framework of experiential learning. This model offers a uniquely high retention and growth opportunity for participants surpassing traditional education methods. Experiential learning uses a blended education approach, including activity, reflection, communication, feedback, and observation.  

So what is the secret sauce to the powerful components of experiential dementia learning and education?  

1. Learning by Doing

 At the heart of experiential learning is the idea of learning by doing. Unlike traditional classroom style or online learning, experiential learning engages the senses and encourages participants to tap into their own feelings and emotions. By immersing themselves in the experience of living with dementia, participants gain a deep understanding from the inside out, leading to higher retention and growth opportunities. This approach breaks down the barriers to traditional classroom style or online learning by engaging the senses and encouraging the participant to tap into feelings that they experience themselves. 

2. Learning through Reflection

In our high-tech, high-speed world, the power of silence and reflection is often a component that is missing in traditional training methods. Experiential learning allows one to walk through an experience soulfully and thoughtfully. By tapping into the powerful emotions one can experience living with dementia, learning takes place from the inside out. 

3. Learning by Application

Instead of traditional fact-checking and testing, experiential learning effectively walks the participant from the "aha" moment to apply skills and tools that make sense. The participant bridges the inside-out sensory and emotional experience through this process with greater application to real-world scenarios. 

                                                  In my last blog,I discussed the steps to prolong your caregiver training program, focusing on sustainability. Now I want to take our discussion one step further to level up your caregiver training. 

For those who have followed my last 5 blog posts, I've delved into the topic of caregiver training and education - and how to take it to the right level. Phew! Lots of content to consume. Last week, I discussed how to measure the impact of your training. Next in this series, I want to discuss prolonging the life of your training program.  

On one of our latest blogs, we provided guidelines on measuring training effectiveness. 

Now let's look at measuring training's financial impact.

Last week I discussed the concept of Empowered Skills and provided a checklist for evaluating the effectiveness of your training program. Proper evaluation of your training programs will ensure you have a process in place of requesting and receiving feedback from caregivers on the training you've provided. Training is only effective if you know what caregivers are thinking.