A programmatic framework for designing gerontological field practical in community senior centers.

Abstract

This paper presents a programmatic framework for lodging the interdisciplinary professional gerontology practicum in the multi-purpose senior center. Experiential data drawn from the staging of an experimental training pilot program confirm that students in a range of disciplines can assume effective internship roles in the senior center. Educational innovations built into the student training model include: (1) access to a wide variety of functional assignments in management, group work, and clinical intervention; (2) exposure to working with the active or well elderly as well as the frail older adult; and (3) opportunities to engage in team-linked tasks while maintaining exposure to discipline specific learning assignments. Programming strategies need to correct for the complexities of coordinating divergent student schedules and academic requirements as well as communication barriers arising from different practice technologies and terminology.