On February 8th, 2013 "Ethel" aka Professor Ellen Duinker (Nursing) arrived at the Forrest building to welcome faculty and students from the Schools of Nursing, Health and Human Performance and Social Work. Ethel's mission was to introduce the realities of dementia through experiential learning within an interprofessional milieu.
In the spring of 2012, Ethel visited the School of Nursing with the sole purpose of educating nursing students on the dilemmas of dementia. Armed with evidence some nursing students described as life altering, nursing faculty planned interprofessional dementia events for the 2013 winter and spring terms.
The most recent Virtual Dementia Tour (VDT) prepared students and faculty to experience sensory and mobility deficits while completing designated tasks within a specified time frame. Garbed in goggles, headsets, treated gloves, kneepads and modified shoes; students and faculty spent 8 minutes trying to remember and navigate with these deficits through a typical seniors' day. Evaluation comments support previous results: after experiencing the VDT, students describe changes in their clinical behaviour when interacting with people with dementia.
The School of Nursing plans to expand the interdisciplinary VDT experience to include other health professions in 2013. In the meantime, "Ethel" will take a well deserved rest!
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