Calling health and social care students AND ADRC caregivers of people with dementia!
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) and the University of Wisconsin Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education (UW CIPE) are working together to offer a mini-course for future clinicians. Participating students in the mini-course are in Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant, Social Work, and other health professions. Students will learn about the special considerations and healthcare needs of family caregivers of people with dementia while recognizing the effects of caregiving on the caregiver’s health, enabling them to incorporate this knowledge into their future professional practice.
This offering is brought to you by the UW CIPE Healthy Aging Initiative, supported by the Wisconsin CDC-funded Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Disease Project.
Session Dates and Modality:
February 17, 2026 – March 10, 2026, 5-7PM, Tu/Th
All sessions are virtual and synchronous. Sessions to be held on the following dates:
- Tuesday 2/17: 5:00-7:00 PM
- Thursday 2/19: 5:00-6:00 PM
- Tuesday 2/24: 5:00-7:00 PM
- Thursday 2/26: 5:00-7:00 PM
- Tuesday 3/3: 5:00-6:00 PM
- Thursday 3/5: 5:00-7:00 PM
- Tuesday 3/10: 5:00-7:00 PM
Time Commitment
- Caregivers of People Living with Dementia: 2-3 hours over 4 weeks
- Dementia Care Specialists: 6-8 hours over 4 weeks
- Facilitators: 10-12 hours over 4 weeks
- Students: 10-12 hours over 4 weeks
Are you a UW-Madison health or social care student?
This experiential learning opportunity empowers UW-Madison students to learn from and with an actual community caregiver of a person living with dementia. Students will learn about the special
considerations and healthcare needs of family caregivers of people living with
dementia while recognizing the effects of caregiving on the caregiver’s health, enabling
them to incorporate this knowledge into their future professional practice.
Register now using the following QR code or Qualtrics survey link: https://bit.ly/HAI-RSVP25-26
Participating students come from Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant, Social Work, and other health profession programs.
Due to the participatory nature of this course, attendance at all sessions is mandatory to receive a Certificate of Completion.
To view a student flyer for this offering, click here.
Are you a caregiver of a person with dementia?
We are looking for local, ADRC-affiliated caregivers of people with dementia to participate in this virtual offering. Your participation better equips our learners for the complexities of collaborative care.
How to Join
To participate, contact Kathleen Smith with the WI DHS at Kathleen.Smith@dhs.wisconsin.gov or contact your Dementia Care Specialist. Register by January 1, 2026.
Caregiver Time Commitment:
There will be two 1-hour meetings held virtually and a 30-60 minutes debrief with the student team. (Up to 3 hours total)
Payment:
An honorarium of $50 is offered to the caregiver upon completion of this minicourse and submission of a W-9 tax form to UW-Madison. Caregivers are welcome to waive payment if preferred, rather than filling out the W-9 tax form.
Meeting details for each of the 3 meetings:
- First Virtual Home Visit – Caregiver Interview to include: 3-5 students, CIPE program facilitator, DCS, family caregiver.
- Second Virtual Home Visit – Student team to present resources to the caregiver: 3-5 students, CIPE program facilitator, DCS, family caregiver.
- Debrief meeting to critique the process and make recommendations
How this experience helps students to learn:
Teams of 3-5 students will interview a family caregiver and a dementia care specialist to learn about the unique experience of providing care for a loved one with dementia. Next, the students will meet with an ADRC specialist to learn about local resources and to design a resource plan appropriate for the caregiver. And finally, the students will present the resource plan to the caregiver and the DCS. This course is designed for caregivers to teach future health care clinicians about the unique stressors, challenges and joys of being a family caregiver and to provide feedback on appropriate local resources that the team presents.
The Process:
- Students receive class-based education on the special needs of family caregivers from facilitators at the UW Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education.
Dementia Care Specialists (DCS) connect a caregiver volunteer to the class project. - DCS meet the students and group facilitators and are oriented to the class: 1-2 hours
- In their first virtual home visit, the interprofessional student groups (3-5 students from differing professions) meet the caregiver via online meeting with DCS present. Students interview caregiver who tells their story up to the point just before they were connected to the ADRC. Approximately 1 hour.
- The students take what they learned about the caregiver and their (at the time) unmet needs and call the ADRC to find out what is available to their client when making a plan of care.
- In their second virtual home visit, the student team meets with the caregiver and DCS to review the care plan and hear from the caregiver about what did happen, what was more helpful, and what they wish they had received from the clinicians to support them. Approximately 1 hour.
- DCS, facilitator, caregiver and students meet to debrief. They review the course, discuss best practices and make suggestions. Approximately 1 hour.
To join, contact Kathleen Smith with the WI DHS at Kathleen.Smith@dhs.wisconsin.gov or contact your Dementia Care Specialist. Register by January 1, 2026.
Questions? Contact Susan Switzer, UW-Madison Healthy Aging Project Coordinator at switzer3@wisc.edu.
Click the image below to view/download the ICDC flyer as a PDF:
