Health and Wellness Screening for Older Adults: Social Work Students' Experiences in the Partnership to Advance Collaborative Education (PACE) Program

Interprofessional health care teams are increasingly an essential component for health care delivery, particularly for older adults. The Partnership to Advance Collaborative Education (PACE) was conceptualized and delivered as a health and wellness screening center for older adults, housed in a dental care clinic. More than forty social work, nursing, and dental students conducted wellness exams and made referrals to community resources during a three-year period. Social work students evaluated their learning experience during a group process at the end of each semester. Their experiences in PACE centered on six key components: what they learned from the patients and what they learned about their profession, about other professions, about themselves, and about leadership, as well as what they took away from the PACE experience. Due to the inclusion of a trauma screening instrument, older adults consistently reported remote trauma, reinforcing the need for trauma-informed care. The PACE experience demonstrated the value of interprofessional collaboration during annual health and wellness screenings of older adults. This article will provide recommendations on increasing course content on interprofessional education and practice, modeling how to work in an interprofessional team and offering opportunities for students to participate in interprofessional contexts.