Results of a study showed: a one-month geriatrics rotation had only a slight positive effect on the attitude of interns toward care of the elderly; senior residents felt they had adequate exposure to geriatric medicine; and attitudes toward care of the elderly changed little during residency. (MLW)

Suggests a new comprehensive health care relationship between patient and physician to educate the patient to understand mental and physical health and disease and how he can protect his own health. (IR)

Medical records of older outpatients treated at 15 university teaching hospitals were reviewed to evaluate how their medical problems were managed in university-based internal medicine practices. The finding suggests either that these patients were extremely atypical or that their geriatric problems were unrecognized. (Author/MLW)

A pilot study is described that was designed to make medical students' early professional contact with the elderly occur with those who are well enough to function as independently living individuals. The students felt the teaching value of the experience equaled or exceeded that of their experience with hospitalized patients. (MLW)

A study to assess how much geriatric medicine and gerontology was included in Part I and Part II of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) examinations, how well students performed in these areas, and whether the amount of content had changed since 1978 is described. (MLW)

Performance objectives, core content, training experiences, and clinical exposure and program evaluations are described for geriatric fellows and house staff members in internal medicine, family practice, neurology, and psychiatry. A modified Delphi study was used. (Author/MLW)

High quality care and teaching in a nursing home require organization of an active medical staff that enhances and does not distract from a physician's commitment to his practice in the office and hospital. The medical residency program at the Jewish Home for the Elderly of Fairfield, Connecticut, is described. (MLW)

A detailed analysis of geriatric education at the undergraduate, graduate, and fellowship levels is reported. Data on the type of training sites, educational activities, and clinical interaction at different levels of training are presented. The results suggest that there is a need for high-quality geriatric programs at all levels. (Author/MLW)

The influence of factual knowledge about the aged, general attitudes toward the aged, and personal contact with the aged on first-year medical students' attitudes toward geriatric patients and geriatric medicine was examined. Entering medical students indicated a preference for working with younger patients rather than aged patients. (Author/MLW)

Data gathered via questionnaires from 96 medical schools indicate that U.S. medical schools continue to assign a fairly low priority to the teaching of geriatrics. Only a few schools offer it as a separate subject, and almost none require it. (LBH)

Geriatric content in a medical school curriculum was assayed by surveying faculty course directors and students about course content, by conducting an independent review of course content, and by analyzing the content of course examinations. The students' assessments of geriatric content were found to be not valid. (Author/MLW)

A four-week geriatric rotation in a nursing home that emphasized rehabilitation for stroke victims, patients with fractured hips, and amputees, and the team approach in care for the elderly is described. Student response was very positive, student sensitivity was improved, and all students felt the team approach could be applied to later practice.…

A pilot program at the University of California, Davis, that incorporated skilled nursing facility training into the required curriculum of their primary care internal medicine residency is described. The goal was to increase the residents' knowledge in the care of geriatric patients. (MLW)

A program undertaken to assess the feasibility of incorporating gerontology and geriatrics into the first- and second-year curriculum at a family medicine-oriented medical school is described, and student reactions are discussed. It is recommended that the teaching of gerontology and geriatrics begin the first year. (Author/MLW)

In response to concerns about continuity of care, nurse practitioners and faculty members from medicine, pharmacy, and nursing developed an interdisciplinary curriculum for clinical experience in a nursing home, an educational and medical experience significantly different from those in hospital or ambulatory settings. (MSE)