35 GERIATRIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE (GEM)’ PEARLS AND PITFALLS’- AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO EDUCATION

Abstract

Abstract Background In recent years we have seen increased awareness of the terms ‘frailty’ and ‘GEM’ in many of our Emergency Departments (ED). A clear understanding of these terms within the context of ED is essential to provide a holistic care and to best meet the needs of older adults. It has been highlighted internationally that current training programmes do not sufficiently address learning needs of trainees to optimise care of this cohort of patients. The European Geriatric Medicine Society and the European Society for Emergency Medicine has attempted to address this gap through the introduction of a core GEM curriculum in 2016, however, at a local level many EDs are not utilising this resource for a number of reasons including lack of awareness and prioritisation of other local learning needs as determined by specialist training. To address the GEM learning needs at a local level an initiative idea was trialled in the form of a GEM teaching wall with dedicated monthly topics chosen from the above curriculum. Methods The initiative was led by a Senior Physiotherapist working on the Frailty Intervention Therapy Team and a Senior House Officer (SHO) working in ED with collaboration from other ED members as identified. A brainstorming session took place to identify potential topics. A poster was created by the project leads each month focusing on a core topic including an overview on the subject, national/international guidelines and top tips how to best manage in ED. Relevant team members contributed to different topics. Monthly posters were displayed in the ED. Results The project has been successfully running for 4 months with topics including Abdominal pain, Silver trauma Delirium and Falls. Conclusion GEM teaching is a cornerstone of successful management of older adults presenting to our EDs. Novel MDT teaching approaches can address the identified learning gap in this area and highlight international recommendations with minimum cost.