The need for improved competency in the health care and caregiving workforce is shaped by several factors. These include demographic shifts, a shortage of trained geriatricians, lack of primary health-care providers with adequate training in geriatrics, and persisting unmet needs reflected by poor health status indicators of older Floridians.…

Embodied Labs works at the intersection of virtual reality storytelling and healthcare workforce training to create experiences where trainees learn from embodying the perspective of the patient and members of the patient's care team. Ninety-four second-year medical students were selected to pilot a virtual reality (VR) geriatric immersion prior…

This study examined whether attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration (Physician-Nurse, Physician-Social Worker, Nurse-Social Worker) held by medical, social work, and nursing students changed after completing an interprofessional curriculum consisting of (a) Interprofessional Education Development Session and (b) the Senior Aging and…

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…

This study examined first-year medical student attitudes concerning the elderly before and after instituting a geriatric mentoring program. The program began and ended with a survey designed to assess students' attitudes toward the elderly. During the mentoring program, students visited the same senior for four visits throughout the academic year.…

Objective: There is a critical need for new researchers in psychiatry, including subspecialties such as geriatric psychiatry. Many existing research training programs focus on post-doctoral-level trainees and involve several years of hands-on research with experienced mentors at major universities. Although valuable, such programs have some…

At the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine, we developed a voluntary senior-mentor program, the Senior Teacher Educator Partnership (STEP), for first- and second-year medical students. Using qualitative research methods, we examined the impact of STEP on medical students' attitudes and then assessed the congruence of what is learned…

In 2000, the Senior Mentor Program was implemented as an innovative, instructional method in the University of South Carolina's medical school curriculum designed to enhance and strengthen student training in geriatrics. This study qualitatively analyzed second-year medical students' and senior participants' perceptions of and attitudes towards…

The Ohio State College of Medicine began its Senior Partners Program (SPP) in 2001 as part of its commitment to integrate geriatric education throughout all four years of the medical curriculum. For participating senior partners and medical students, the SPP has signified a journey through a continuum of aging. Initial evaluations suggest that…