Geriatric Resource Specialist

The Geriatric Resource Specialist (GRS) Program is designed to provide interdisciplinary teams of licensed and unlicensed staff with leadership, mentoring and clinical knowledge and skills so that they may perform with greater effectiveness and serve as role models and facilitators for improved care throughout their organizations. These staff teams will participate in continuing education programs that encompass a required set of core courses and a defined number of elective elements. In addition, the staff teams  will be trained and mentored in the development, implementation and evaluation of outcomes-based practice programs. Each GRS team will plan, initiate and evaluate a program to address some clinical care issue in their facility/organization.

The program is supported by the Comprehensive Geriatric Education Program grant from the Division of Nursing, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), by the Geriatric Education Center grant from the Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and by a grant from the Kansas Department on Aging. The GRS Program is an extension and expansion of the Geriatric Education Master Mentor (GEMM) Program that was initiated in 2003 under previous grant funding.

Core Courses

Interdisciplinary teams of licensed and unlicensed staff will learn together in core courses. Emphasis will be on how each care provider’s role  is important in providing quality care to patients.

Mentored Project

Each team participating in the GRS Program will identify a practice issue within its organization that presents an opportunity to improve patient care. The teams will work continuously throughout the program with GRS faculty advisors to develop and implement a practice-change project addressing this issue. At the end of the program, teams will present their mentored projects. Each team will also be encouraged to monitor and evaluate how their participation in the GRS Program affects the care of their clients or residents

Hands-on Project Assistance

GRS faculty will be available for on-site visits to assist teams with initial identification and the beginning stages of development of their practice-change projects.

Elective Elements

Individual team members will choose from the elective elements offered those courses of interest to them to  complete their requirements for the program certificate. Elective offerings are also open to all interested health care providers, whether or not enrolled in the GRS Program, and may be attended in person or via ITV where available.
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