Interprofessional education - a case for Gerodontology training

Increasing life expectancy, concepts of patient well-being, and the multiplicity of needs of the geriatric population, demand contribution, and collaboration of physicians, dentists, psychologists, pharmacists, and other allied health disciplines, to provide quality care to patients. Interprofessional education (IPE) is an approach to education that improves collaboration among health professionals and it can aid in better management of geriatric patients. Communication and cooperation affect health care performance and hence, influence patient outcomes. Currently, each of the disciplines mentioned has customized undergraduate and/or postgraduate training in geriatric care. Though a uni-disciplinary educational approach increases knowledge and skills of individual professions separately, IPE offers significant advantages. IPE seeks to have students learning together, as well as from each other to develop exemplary collaborative practice. The World Health Organization (WHO) has proposed that IPE will ensure optimum health care. However, IPE is yet to find its proper place in dental education. It would help dental students to develop a positive attitude toward geriatric patients and increase their empathy and efficiency in the management of these patients. This manuscript seeks to highlight the concept of interprofessional education (IPE) in gerodontology and develop recommendations for implementation of IPE in India.