Interdisciplinary GeroPsych/Behavioral Disorders Traineeship

Policies & Guidelines Application Form Curriculum General Information

Policies and Guidelines

I. Introduction

Two of the objectives of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists Foundation are (1) to design, conduct, coordinate, and fund educational programs and initiatives that enhance appropriate, effective, and safe medication use in the senior population; and (2) to develop, support, and promote the patient-centered principles and practice of senior care pharmacy.

Accordingly, the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP) Foundation conducts a post-graduate traineeship in psychiatric and behavioral disorders for pharmacists, physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists. The traineeship offers unique opportunities for the geriatric team to work collaboratively, learn new skills, sharpen existing skills, and render new services.

The Interdisciplinary GeroPsych/Behavioral Disorders Traineeship is administered by the ASCP Foundation, 1321 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314. The traineeship is supported by an educational grant from Forest Laboratories, Inc.

II. Objectives

The primary objectives of the ASCP Foundation Interdisciplinary GeroPsych/Behavioral Disorders Traineeship are to prepare the geriatric team to provide a high level of patient care to persons with psychiatric and behavioral disorders; to create advocates for appropriate care and treatment of persons with psychiatric and behavioral disorders in the settings where they practice; and to foster collaboration and more effective communication among members of the geriatric team to improve the care and treatment of persons with psychiatric and behavioral disorders.

The full-time, five-day (Monday through Friday) traineeship will provide individualized, intensive, didactic and experiential training for selected geriatric teams consisting of a pharmacist and a prescriber — a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse specialist. It will offer the trainees the opportunity to observe and participate in the development of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatment plans for persons suffering from psychiatric and behavioral disorders. The trainee team will gain considerable knowledge of the diagnosis and assessment of psychiatric and behavioral disorders; recognition and appropriate treatment of common comorbid conditions; appropriate use of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions and treatments; and the significant role of caregivers as members of the treatment team. The traineeship also offers the opportunity for the geriatric team to work with an interdisciplinary team consisting of pharmacists, physicians, nurses, nurse aides, family members, other caregivers, and patients to positively impact the treatment outcomes.

Upon successful completion of the Interdisciplinary GeroPsych/Behavioral Disorders Traineeship, the participants will be able to:

1. Describe the pathophysiology, stages, and treatment of psychiatric and behavioral disorders and common comorbid conditions.
2. Adopt a vision of treatment for psychiatric and behavioral disorders as team-oriented, preventative, chronic, individualized, and comprehensive.
3. Identify appropriate goals and outcomes of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatments in various settings.
4. Evaluate the relationship of medications to nonpharmacologic treatments (e.g., behavioral, environmental, dietary, physical, occupational, recreational, and speech).
5. Define and differentiate the goals, tasks, and constraints of all persons involved in the care of persons with psychiatric and behavioral disorders.
6. Investigate, identify and apply available resources, including Internet sites, to continue to learn and educate others about psychiatric and behavioral disorders.

III. Qualifications of the Traineeship Applicant Team

The Interdisciplinary GeroPsych/Behavioral Disorders Traineeship is open to geriatric teams consisting of a pharmacist and a prescriber — a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse specialist. Both team members must participate in the entire five-day program.

1. The pharmacist applicant will be a graduate of a school or college of pharmacy accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. The physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse specialist applicant will be a graduate of a school of medicine or nursing accredited by the Council on Medical Education or the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission. NOTE: Applicants from outside the United States and Canada should contact the ASCP Foundation regarding this qualification.
2. The applicant team will actively practice pharmacy and medicine/nursing and have at least two years experience in clinical practice.
3. The applicant team will demonstrate strong clinical knowledge and skills by citing clinical practice experience.
4. The applicant team will have a demonstrated interest in the interdisciplinary care and pharmacotherapy and overall treatment of psychiatric and behavioral disorders.
5. The applicant team will be affiliated with health care facilities or organizations - or self-employed and - able and willing to implement the results of the traineeship experience, and will have agreed to work collaboratively in practice managing patients as a team.

IV. Application Procedure

1. The applicant must submit the completed application form and the exhibits listed in item 2 below.
2. The following items are to be appended to the application form, each clearly labeled in the upper right-hand corner, as indicated (Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C, Exhibit D):

   Exhibit A. Curriculum vitae from each team member, which must include the applicant’s education, experience record in pharmacy practice/medicine/nursing (in reverse chronological order, most recent first), and any relevant publications, presentations, and community service.

   Exhibit B. Statement of not more than four typed, double-spaced pages describing: (1) why the applicant team wants to participate in the traineeship and the applicant team’s expectations of the traineeship experience; (2) nature and extent of professional or personal involvement with persons with psychiatric or behavioral disorders; (3) current level of clinical services provided by the applicant team members, including total number of patients served, geographic distribution (urban, rural, suburban), ethnic distribution (Black, White, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Eskimo/Aleut), and number of patients with psychiatric or behavioral disorders; (4) special services or programs provided by the applicant team members; (5) how the traineeship will enhance the interdisciplinary clinical services provided by the applicant team; and (6) how the results of the traineeship experience will be incorporated into the applicant team’s collaborative practice.

   Exhibit C*. Letter(s) from the applicant team members’ employer(s) confirming support for their participation in the traineeship and willingness to implement the results of the traineeship experience. Letters should be addressed to the applicant(s) and signed by the chief executive officer, administrator, medical director, director of pharmacy, clinical coordinator, or other appropriate manager/supervisor in the organization.

   Exhibit D. A joint statement from the applicant team explaining: (1) any current or past experience working together, including the type of collaboration, monthly hours of collaboration, and years of collaboration; and (2) plans for collaboration after completing the traineeship (i.e., how the team will work together), including the type of collaboration, business model, anticipated monthly hours of collaboration, anticipated locations served, and anticipated number of patients seen per month by either team member.

   *If the applicants are self-employed, this exhibit may be omitted.

V. Selection Procedure

1. Applications will be reviewed and ranked by a selection panel appointed by the ASCP Foundation. Decisions of the selection panel will be final and without appeal.
2. Selection will be based solely on information submitted to the ASCP Foundation by the traineeship applicant team.
3. Previous participation by a pharmacist in the ASCP Foundation GeroPsych/Behavioral Disorders Traineeship for pharmacists does not preclude participation in this interdisciplinary traineeship.
4. The ASCP Foundation will notify all traineeship applicants of the outcome of their applications, but the trainees are responsible for payment.

VI. Conduct and Administration of the Traineeship

1. The ASCP Foundation is the administrator of the traineeship.
2. The traineeship is awarded to an applicant team consisting of a pharmacist and a prescriber — a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse specialist.
3. The trainees are responsible for expenses for travel to the traineeship site, lodging, meals, and incidentals.
4. The ASCP Foundation will coordinate and reserve hotel accommodations for the trainees, but the trainees are responsible for payment
5. The trainees may be required to sign a waiver of liability and confidentiality release appropriate to the specific training sites.
6. Each trainee team is expected to prepare two case studies for discussion during the traineeship.
7. Both members of the trainee team will be required to participate in all sessions of the program, complete a program evaluation, and submit two case consults collaboratively (see section VII, item 1, below).

VII. Requirements of the Trainees

In order to ensure the traineeship participants use the skills and knowledge gained in some measurable way, the following post-traineeship requirements must be met:

1. Traineeship participant teams are expected to write up and submit to the ASCP Foundation two case consults for which they intervened collaboratively to improve care of patients with psychiatric and behavioral disorders. The case consults will include: (1) description of the problem; (2) treatment/intervention recommended and why; (3) goals of treatment/intervention plan; (4) how staff, caregivers, family members, and patients were involved in treatment decisions and monitoring; (5) expected outcomes; (6) how outcomes were measured; and (7) actual outcomes and how and why they differed from the expected outcomes. The format for the case consults will be distributed after the traineeship.
2. Traineeship participant teams are expected to implement a geropsych/behavioral disorders collaborative service at one or more of the settings in which they presently work, or will work upon entering into a new collaborative practice/business.
3. Traineeship participant teams are expected to become involved with local organizations, such as the Alliance for the Mentally Ill, Psychiatric Survivors, and National Depressive and Manic-Depressive Association, by volunteering to speak at meetings, write articles for newsletters, or participate in other ways to meet a specific need within their community.
4. Traineeship participant teams will have the opportunity to participate in the ASCP Foundation Traineeship Network by attending meetings and educational programs at the ASCP Midyear Conference and Annual Meeting and by subscribing to the ASCP Foundation’s Traineeship Network E-Mail List Server. Traineeship participants may be asked to participate in educational programs at ASCP meetings and assist the ASCP Foundation in promoting the traineeship.

VIII. Accreditation

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Pharmacists: The American Society of Consultant Pharmacists is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. This is program number 203-000-07-099-L01. To earn 35.0 contact hours (3.5 CEUs), participants must attend the program in its entirety and complete and submit a program evaluation. Statements of continuing education credit will be mailed to participants within four weeks of receipt of their evaluation.

ASCP is accredited only as a provider of continuing pharmacy education (CPE) credit.  Non-pharmacist participants may submit CPE to their respective professional boards for consideration.

ASCP Foundation
The ASCP Foundation is the research and education affiliate of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists. The mission of the ASCP Foundation is to improve the health and well-being of older persons through appropriate, effective, and safe medication use. The ASCP Foundation provides leadership, innovation, and expertise in medicines and aging to seniors and those who care for them. The unique focus of the ASCP Foundation is the development, integration, and application of knowledge regarding medication use in the senior population and the practice of senior care pharmacy to optimize health care outcomes.