This paper describes an Elder Specialist Program developed by one school of medicine to sensitize medical students to geriatric psychosocial issues. Elder Specialists participate in panel discussions as part of each geriatric session. As an alternative to traditional senior mentoring programs, the Elder Specialist Program provides all students a…

This study assesses how effective classroom sessions are at teaching geriatric competencies to medical students. At Stony Brook Medical School, most geriatric competencies are taught in the Ambulatory Care Clerkship during small-group educational sessions. Clinical exposure to reinforce these specialized skills varies with preceptor assignment. A…

A total of 8 geriatric medicine fellows participated in an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) assessing communication skills and clinical reasoning in common geriatric syndromes. To determine their perceptions about the experience, we conducted surveys and semistructured interviews. We analyzed the survey data using descriptive…

Virginia Commonwealth University developed an enhanced medical student geriattic curriculum that includes required home visits and nursing home visits for second year students (180 per year), an annual Forum on Aging for all first and second year students, and small group exercises. We added 30 hours of basic science material to pre-clinical…

The research reported in this article examined attitudes toward the care of the elderly between and among medical students and residents in training. Data were collected with a 16-item attitude questionnaire. Participants were medical students in their introduction period (prior to clinical experience) and residents of the Department of Internal…

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)

Objective: The authors describe the approval processes for subspecialties and the mechanisms for certification and recertification and review the status of training programs and numbers of diplomates with subspecialty certification. Methods: Published information and relevant data bases were reviewed. To date, 5,327 child and adolescent…

Describes the development and implementation of a new standardized patient program in a required geriatrics clinical clerkship for fourth-year medical students. A student survey was also conducted. The standardized patient program provided students with direct feedback on their clinical skills--76% of the students favored the program. (RJM)

The 1975 to 1985 graduates of the University of Iowa College of Dentistry were surveyed to evaluate the influence on dental practice of a comprehensive geriatric dental curriculum introduced in 1980. Those who graduated before 1980 were more likely to be consultants in nursing homes than carrying out comprehensive care for this population.…

After spending seven weeks in a nursing home, nursing students came away from the experience with a new respect for the aged, a realistic idea of the problems facing the nursing staff in the extended care facility, and new image of nursing homes. (Author)

Students at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine of the City University of New York taking a required clinical clerkship in geriatrics were surveyed before and after the clerkship on their knowledge of geriatrics, attitudes toward the elderly, and evaluation of the rotation. (Author/MLW)

The process of students' evaluation in medical schools has changed from a tutor-led evaluation system based on students' performance to a student-based evaluation that involves self-reflection and their level of change in skills and attitudes. At the McGill University Division of Geriatric Medicine, we developed an innovative system of evaluation…

Research findings have demonstrated the relevance of a home care experience for teaching the interactions of the social, psychological, environmental, and biological factors that characterize chronic illness. Research was conducted in the Home Care Program at the University of California, San Francisco. (Author/MLW)

Evidence is presented to support the development of the nursing home as a required clinical educational site. Analogies and differences between the nursing home and the hospital in medical education are explored as a means of understanding the potential and limits of the nursing home's role in medical education. (Author/MLW)

A study describing demographic, residential, health, and utilization characteristics of patients over 70 years of age followed in a hospital-based teaching group practice is presented. It is concluded that physicians' training should include management--for an extended period of time--a cohort of elderly, independent, ambulatory patients.…