A big part of our role as Speech Pathologists is providing education to others. This is particularly true for our training that we provide for The International Dysphagia Dietary Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI). We know you’ve heard us talk about it before, such as what IDDSI is & what our training includes. But why would you benefit from doing this training with us? IDDSI training is very important for many reasons, and we are here to help you understand why.
1. Resident and client safety
We will start with the obvious, but available data suggests that dysphagia is surprisingly common, occurring in 8-22% of persons over the age of 50. It is highly prevalent in our vulnerable populations such as aged care and disability. Many choking or aspiration incidents can be prevented with the correct management. This includes implementing food and fluid texture modifications using the IDDSI model. Understanding IDDSI is crucial for resident and client safety, to minimise incidents such as serious illness or death related to choking or aspiration pneumonia.
2. Understanding “normal” swallowing vs. dysphagia
Did you know our IDDSI training also includes key information on how the swallowing process works, the anatomy involved in this and where things can very easily breakdown. People are often intrigued and surprised when they better understand what is happening when someone has dysphagia. This helps us to have a more detailed understanding of the person’s background as to why they are experiencing the difficulty, and therefore the need for IDDSI.
3. Highly transferable skills
IDDSI is being implemented world-wide (hence, it is an International model)! This means that once you have had IDDSI training through OSCAR at your current workplace or facility, these skills can be applied to most healthcare settings across the world. IDDSI also aims to be culturally inclusive and is available in approximately 50 languages. Therefore, if you have a change of career path, workplace location or even country, you can apply your IDDSI learnings to your new setting. Knowledge of IDDSI allows for highly transferable skills on swallowing, dysphagia and food/fluid texture modification.
4. Evidence and research is continually changing
As with most things in the healthcare space, research and evidence that informs our practice is continually changing and evolving. This is also true for dysphagia & swallowing management, including IDDSI. As Speech Pathologists and healthcare professionals, we have a responsibility to provide you with training and therapies that follow best practice and up to date evidence. This is why we recommend IDDSI training such as a “refresher” session once every year (12 months). This will ensure that you can feel confident in your knowledge, and be sure that your practices are following the most up to date evidence.
5. Opportunities for discussions, questions and answers with a Speech Pathologist
Our IDDSI training is run by our Speech Pathologists at OSCAR Care Group, who have highly competent knowledge of IDDSI and dysphagia. Speech Pathologists are highly trained professionals and the best people to ask for all of your dysphagia questions. Our IDDSI training aims to be catered to your facility and your specific needs.
For example, if you have more residents on a Level 6 – Soft and Bite Sized Diet, we can spend more time focusing on this level if requested. If you are wanting to spend more time on the food/flow testing for all of the IDDSI levels, then we can focus more on this. You can ask our Speech Pathologist client-specific questions and case scenarios that you have come across in your day-to-day work and practice. It is a fantastic opportunity for both formal and informal discussions, as well as problem-solving.
Book in your IDDSI training today!
Our IDDSI training at OSCAR Care Group is catered to meet all of your needs. For example, we provide training as both an extended, 2-hour session, or a 1-hour refresher for those who only need to “touch up” on their knowledge. We offer both face-to-face and live virtual options for all of our training sessions. For more information on our IDDSI training and Speech Pathology services, reach out to our team. We look forward to working with you and your clients to support all of their IDDSI and Dysphagia needs!