197586 Retooling for an aging America: Building a social work workforce

Monday, November 9, 2009

Jeannine Melly, MPH , Social Work Leadership Institute, The New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY
Carin Tinney, LMSW , Social Work Leadership Institute, The New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY
Jarmin Yeh, MSSW, MPH , Social Work Leadership Institute, The New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY
Patricia Volland, MSW, MBA , Social Work Leadership Institute, The New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY
The number of older Americans will double by 2030 – the year the last baby boomers turn 65 – yet the healthcare workforce, including social workers, is too small and unprepared to meet the need, according to the recent report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), “Retooling for an Aging America: Building a Health Care Workforce.” This report probes the challenges and offers three recommendations that will improve our nation's readiness to care for an aging population – strengthen geriatric skills, increase recruitment and retention, and improve the way care is delivered. In an effort to increase an aging-competent workforce and meet the IOM recommendations, the Social Work Leadership Institute's Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education (HPPAE) is a 12-year initiative to recruit and train the next generation of social workers by transforming how geriatric education is taught in programs nationwide. This competency-based training program exposes students to aging-related careers through rotational practicums that link health and social services so that, upon graduation, they are ready to take leadership positions within agencies committed to improving the systems of policy and practice with older adults. To date, the HPPAE has trained approximately 1,133 professionals from 72 programs nationwide. In meeting the IOM recommendations, evaluations from graduates were used to assess program satisfaction and commitment to pursuing aging careers; pre- and post-test data showed increases in aging knowledge and skills; and career-tracking information collected from graduates will be shared to demonstrate the program's influence on increasing the aging workforce.

Learning Objectives:
Recognize the issues surrounding the shortage in a healthcare workforce in aging. List three barriers limiting the number of social workers educated and trained in aging. Articulate how the HPPAE model meets the IOM recommendations of strengthening geriatric skills, increase recruitment and retention, and improve the way care is delivered by training students in response to the large-scale demographic shift in older adults.

Keywords: Aging, Education

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Deputy Director of The New York Academy of Medicine’s Social Work Leadership Institute. Before joining SWLI, I worked in The Academy’s Division of Health Policy and spent 13 years at a New Jersey nonprofit, developing and running housing programs for people living with HIV and managing fundraising initiatives. I also have experience in direct service to inmates, the homeless, and women with substance use difficulties. I am the chair of the HIV Law Project Board of Directors, and has served as a member of the New Jersey Women and AIDS Network's Board of Directors. I hold a master’s degree in public health from the Hunter College Program in Urban Public Health and a bachelor’s degree in social work from Livingston College, Rutgers University.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Translating Aging Research into Practice
See more of: Gerontological Health