Abstract

Introduction
The Bachelor of Science in Gerontology Programme is the first University Grants Committee-funded gerontology programme in Hong Kong to address population ageing and the associated workforce shortage. Students' higher-order cognitive skills are required to apply the interdisciplinary care principles in planning health and social care for older persons and their caregivers.

Aim
To develop the means to further enhance students’ capability to achieve higher-level learning outcomes in interprofessional collaborative practice.

Methods
We developed 10 video-taped simulated interdisciplinary case conferences and critical-thinking exercises about managing older persons with complex life situations and challenges in community, rehabilitative and residential care settings. Essential topics including high-impact communication skills and leadership skills in care coordination are covered. The activities include case presentation, care planning, communicating with older persons, caregivers, and members of the interdisciplinary care team. The simulated case conferences will be uploaded on the Blackboard. A pretest posttest study will be conducted to determine the impact on preparing gerontology students for successful collaborative practice. The outcomes include willingness to work in interprofessional relationships in teams and perceptions about the usefulness of the simulated-based learning materials. Three focus group interviews will also be conducted to elicit students' feedback.

Conclusion
This is a unit-level project integrating expertise from various healthcare disciplines including nursing, pharmacy, medicine, and social work. The collaboration between departments in the Faculty in producing the simulated interdisciplinary case conferences facilitates the development of students’ competence and confidence in interdisciplinary team-based care, and hence facilitates the students’ professional development.