ERIC Number: EJ954626
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Feb
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0016-9013
EISSN: N/A
Integrating Geriatrics into Medical School: Student Journaling as an Innovative Strategy for Evaluating Curriculum
Shield, Renee R.; Farrell, Timothy W.; Nanda, Aman; Campbell, Susan E.; Wetle, Terrie
Gerontologist, v52 n1 p98-110 Feb 2012
Purpose of the study: The Alpert Medical School of Brown University began to integrate geriatrics content into all preclerkship courses and key clerkship cases as part of a major medical school curriculum redesign in 2006. This study evaluates students' responses to geriatrics integration within the curriculum using journals kept by volunteer preclerkship and clerkship students between 2007 and 2010. The journals were used to assess the quality of curricular integration of geriatrics didactic and clinical content, to gather information for shaping the evolving curriculum, and to elicit students' responses about their professional development and caring for older adults. Design and Methods: Student "journalers" wrote narrative reactions to and evaluations of aging-related content and exposure to older patients in response to written semistructured questions. An interdisciplinary team (including a health services researcher, gerontologist, medical anthropologist, and 2 geriatricians) used qualitative analysis to code the 405 journal entries. Results: The team identified 10 themes within the following domains: (a) evaluation of efforts to integrate geriatrics within the medical school curriculum, (b) recognition and application of geriatrics principles, (c) student attitudes and cultural experiences regarding aging and the care of older patients, and (d) personal and professional development over time. Themes emerging within these domains reflect the effectiveness of geriatrics integration within the new curriculum as well as students' professional development. Implications: Journaling provides a novel and effective method for capturing medical students' responses to curricular content in real time, allowing for midcourse corrections and identifying key components of their professional development.
Descriptors: Medical Education, Medical Students, Student Attitudes, Medical Schools, Patients, Student Journals, Curriculum Evaluation, Curriculum Implementation, Journal Writing, Gerontology, Older Adults, Aging (Individuals), Evaluation Methods, Clinical Teaching (Health Professions), Aging Education, Coding, Qualitative Research, Geriatrics
Oxford University Press. Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, UK. Tel: +44-1865-353907; Fax: +44-1865-353485; e-mail: jnls.cust.serv@oxfordjournals.org; Web site: http://gerontologist.oxfordjournals.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Rhode Island
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A