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 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.…

The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine (UMMSM) has developed and implemented a competency-based undergraduate medical education (UME) curriculum that targets 61 learning objectives for three geriattic syndromes: dementia, falls, and delirium. This curriculum redesign changed the educational focus from what is taught to what is learned.…

Offers 23 summaries of innovative approaches to medical education, presented in four categories: applications of the World Wide Web, curricular change, geriatrics and gerontology in medical education, and support for medical school faculty. (EV)

This paper describes development, implementation, and evaluation strategies of a longitudinal geriatric curriculum, the Senior Mentor Program (SMP). The rationale for exposing undergraduate medical students to healthy, community-dwelling older adults is to use the relationship and activities as vehicles for improving knowledge of aging and…

Describes the National Institute on Aging Teaching Nursing Home (TNH) Program, devised to bring to long-term care research and training activities similar to those in teaching hospitals and thus develop an interface between research and practice. Conflicting goals, orientations, organizations, value systems, and practices are discussed. (JAC)

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)

Interdisciplinary health care training is advocated by numerous government and philanthropic organizations. Educators in the health professions are increasingly offering training in interdisciplinary health care in a variety of contexts, including ambulatory settings. This paper describes a three-year program to teach skills in interdisciplinary…

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)

Ohio's initiative in geriatric education shows that the federal government need not be the initiator in charting new directions. Diversity of medical education and practice can be an asset. The Ohio model provides a replicable means of transition and holds great promise for other states. (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)

Strategic planning at the University of Florida College of Dentistry identified: the needs of the elderly population; the remote location of the dental school relative to the population in the state; the need to expand clinical research; the need to utilize computers; the reliance on state funding; etc. (MLW)

With geriatric nursing a growing medical specialty, employment opportunities are favorable for nurses who have training in working with the increasing older population. Describes geriatric nursing in various settings, outlines educational requirements, and gives employment outlook earnings and information for both registered nurses and licensed…

Most medical school curricula do not equip students with adequate attitudes, knowledge and skills to care for elderly populations. We describe an effective geriatric curricular infusion model compatible with preserving the overall curricula schema. Course and clerkship directors, staff and faculty from the Office of Educational Development, Center…

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…