Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jul 1;24(1):694.
doi: 10.1186/s12912-025-03410-4.

Empowering orthopedic nurses' and nurse's aides through a multimodal geriatric mobile team: a mixed methods study

Bastien Genet  1 , Judith Cohen-Bittan  2 , Rebecca Bonnetain  2 , Alicia Amal  2 , Luca Royer  2 , Marie-Eva Rollet  3   4 , Pauline Glasman  5 , Angélique Bergeot  2 , Michaël Nicolas  2 , Jean-Sébastien Cadwallader  6 , Jacques Boddaert  2   7 , Lorène Zerah  2   8
Affiliations

Empowering orthopedic nurses' and nurse's aides through a multimodal geriatric mobile team: a mixed methods study

Bastien Genet et al. BMC Nurs. .

Abstract

Background: Despite their proven effectiveness, geriatric perioperative units face organizational constraints that limit access to care. A mobile geriatric team can extend expertise to orthopedic wards, assessing older patients at nurses' and nurse's aides' request. This study explored caregivers' perceptions of the geriatric mobile team and examines the quality of patient care before and after its intervention.

Methods: This mixed-methods study used a convergent design. The mobile team provided direct geriatric expertise at the request of orthopedic caregivers and implemented an educational program to enhance their skills in caring for older adults. Training included "aging simulation" workshops, error-awareness exercises ("room of errors" workshops), and courses on hospital-associated disability. Quantitative evaluation focused on post-operative care in four key areas: pain management, mobilization, nutritional screening, and continence care, along with adherence to the mobile team's recommendations. Qualitative analysis involved focus groups with nurses and nurse's aides to capture their experiences and perspectives.

Results: Between December 2022 and April 2023, 38 patients were evaluated by the mobile team (mean age: 84 years ± 6.1; 42% male). Patients were relatively independent (median ADL score: 6 [6-6]), with 24% experiencing neurocognitive disorders. The mobile team improved care appropriateness in over 70% of cases across all four domains. Nurses and nurse's aides reported that the mobile team alleviated their feelings of isolation and lack of recognition by fostering horizontal communication and shared decision-making, reinforcing their role in patient-centered care.

Conclusion: In orthopedic settings, a perioperative geriatric mobile team plays a critical role in supporting nurses as clinical care partners and nurse's aides as frontline caregivers. By providing both hands-on assistance and targeted education, the team strengthens geriatric-centered care beyond specialized geriatric units, enhancing both professional confidence and patient outcomes.

Clinical trial number: Not applicable.

Keywords: Geriatric mobile team; Interdisciplinary collaboration; Orthogeriatrics; Patient safety; Simulation-based training.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: In May 2023, this study received approval from the “Gerontopole d’Ile-de-France” (GEROND’IF, https://www.gerondif.org/equipe-expertise ) Ethics Committee in Paris (approval no. 42023), confirming its adherence to MR-004 criteria established by the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL). The non-opposition of patients and healthcare professionals was obtained prior to the collection of their data (quantitative and qualitative, respectively). We declared that research is in compliance with the Helsinki Declaration ( https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki/ ). Patients provided written consent to participate before each geriatric assessment conducted by the geriatric mobile team. Similarly, nurses and nurse’s aides gave their written consent before the focus groups were conducted and recorded. In both cases, consent was obtained following a process of free and informed information. Consent for publication: The only images in the manuscript are found in the Supplemental Materials (Supplemental S2: “Aging simulation” workshop program and details) and do not depict participants of this study. This picture comes directly from the simulation costume website: https://www.simulateur-du-vieillissement.com/notre-original.html?%20gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwqi_BhBxEiwAkxvbkPfK2OKVyeFviPjePo5Xaczj3PY0CqGBtBkjSWcohswXmRIZd08eIRoCfMEQAvD_BwE . There are no other personal or clinical details of participants that compromise anonymity. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart of the Power-MOB study
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Boxplot showing change in mobile team recommendations over the study period. Horizontal line is median, box edges interquartile range, and whiskers range. Period 1: December. 2022. Period 2: January. 2023. Period 3: February. 2023 Period 4: March. 2023. Period 5: April. 2023
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Explanatory model of interactions among patients, nurses, nurse’s aides, and the mobile team in orthopedics
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Johnell O, Kanis JA. An estimate of the worldwide prevalence and disability associated with osteoporotic fractures. Osteoporos Int. 2006;17(12):1726–33. - PubMed
    1. Allen KD, Thoma LM, Golightly YM. Epidemiology of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthr Cartil. 2022;30(2):184–95. - PMC - PubMed
    1. McIsaac DI, Beaulé PE, Bryson GL, Van Walraven C. The impact of frailty on outcomes and healthcare resource usage after total joint arthroplasty: a population-based cohort study. Bone Joint J. 2016;98–B(6):799–805. - PubMed
    1. Zerah L, Hajage D, Raux M, Cohen-Bittan J, Mézière A, Khiami F, et al. Attributable mortality of hip fracture in older patients: A retrospective observational study. JCM. 2020;9(8):2370. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Guo Y, Jia P, Zhang J, Wang X, Jiang H, Jiang W. Prevalence and risk factors of postoperative delirium in elderly hip fracture patients. J Int Med Res. 2016;44(2):317–27. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources