Medical Readers' Theater (MRT) is an innovative and simple way of helping medical students to reflect on difficult-to-discuss topics in geriatrics medical education, such as aging stereotypes, disability and loss of independence, sexuality, assisted living, relationships with adult children, and end-of-life issues. The authors describe a required…

In 2004 and 2005 the Beverly Foundation surveyed volunteer drivers in an effort to better understand how and why they support older adults. The sample comprised 714 volunteer drivers from 367 communities, representing 40 states, who responded to the survey. Their responses provided qualitative and quantitative information about who they are, why…

Suggests that volunteerism must supplement and not be a substitute for what should be a gainfully employed work force. (Author)

Reviews and describes three programs in which older adults provide their services: foster grandparents, senior companions, and retired senior volunteers. (AM)

Describes the Potteries Elderly Support Group, a small-scale, locally based initiative in England, which relieves relatives, one day a week, of some of the pressures associated with caring for an elderly mentally infirm person. Details the rationale for the group and describes how it has been funded, staffed, and operated. (JAC)

Reviews the various emerging roles that senior citizens can play in the educational field. (AM)

In response to aging patient demographics and a call for increased formal geriatric training in medical schools, a community volunteer geriatric mentor program, Bridging Generations, was developed to shape attitudes of medical students caring for the elderly. The geriatric mentor experience provided students with unique insight into the challenges…

Considers what benefits volunteerism offers to the aging and to their communities, how this role for the aging is valued, what has been learned from the greater utilization of senior citizen volunteers, and how this opportunity can be provided to those who want it. (Author/AM)

Contains 16 articles exploring the following: the impact of sociodemographic change on long-term care; current concerns and future challenges in recruiting and retaining health care workers; the responses of social work, geriatric medicine, nurse practitioner, and allied health educators to the growing demand; and the increased need for volunteer,…

The report deals with the design, development, and evaluation of a short-term training program directed toward modifying attitudes and acquiring new information and skills about sensory impairments frequently found among institutionalized elderly people. The training attempted to provide participants with a clearer understanding of the implication…

A training program for prospective foster home operators and volunteer workers with creative arts was held in the fall of 1968 and again in the spring of 1969 under the joint sponsorship of the Program in Gerontology of the University of Rhode Island, the Cooperative Extension Service, and the Rhode Island Medical Center. The foster homes under…

This survey of the occupational status, future needs, and educational interests of volunteers and professional personnel serving senior citizens who live in communities or institutional settings in Hartford, Connecticut, is based on the assumption that new careers will open up in fields related to gerontology to meet the needs of a rapidly…