A model for integrating the assessment and management of geriatric syndromes into internal medicine continuity practice: 5-year report.

A geriatric ambulatory curriculum was created to improve internal medicine residents' care of geriatric patients. Second-year residents met for a 3-hour session weekly for 4 consecutive weeks during a block rotation with faculty geriatricians for a curriculum focused on dementia, falls, and urinary incontinence. After a 1-hour case-based didactic session, residents applied learned content and concepts to patient consultations. Consultative encounters were precepted by faculty and shared with the team. After completing our curriculum, residents reported knowledge acquired and enhanced evaluation and management skills of these three syndromes and were more likely to use all recommended screening tests in future practice. This article describes the process and strategies guiding development of a successful ambulatory geriatric curriculum model that can be embedded into preexisting internal medicine clinics to help future internists to better manage these and other common geriatric syndromes.

An unfolding case with a linked Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE): a curriculum in inpatient geriatric medicine.

As the percentage of time devoted to the care of older adults by internists continues to rise, the need for these physicians to be skilled at their care becomes even more critical. In fact, the Education Committee of the American Geriatrics Society has recommended the development of structured educational curricula to teach the principles of geriatric care. This article describes a comprehensive, evidence-based curriculum for internal medicine house staff in inpatient geriatric medicine. The intervention encompasses a novel instructional method, defined skill and behavioral goals, and a competency-based effectiveness evaluation. Moreover, the principles in this curricular model are those that may affect any hospitalized older adult and so will be important for all house staff taking care of inpatient geriatric patients, regardless of their future subspecialty choice.

A national survey on the current status of general internal medicine residency education in geriatric medicine.

OBJECTIVES: The dramatic increase in the U.S. elderly population expected over the coming decades will place a heavy strain on the current health care system. General internal medicine (GIM) residents need to be prepared to take care of this population. In this study, we document the current and future trends in geriatric education in GIM residency programs. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS: An original survey was mailed to all the GIM residency directors in the United States (N = 390). RESULTS: A 53% response rate was achieved (n = 206). Ninety-three percent of GIM residencies had a required geriatrics curriculum. Seventy one percent of the programs required 13 to 36 half days of geriatric medicine clinical training during the 3-year residency, and 29% required 12 half days or less of clinical training. Nursing homes, outpatient geriatric assessment centers, and nongeriatric ambulatory settings were the predominant training sites for geriatrics in GIM. Training was most often offered in a block format. The average number of physician faculty available to teach geriatrics was 6.4 per program (2.8 full-time equivalents). Conflicting time demands with other curricula was ranked as the most significant barrier to geriatric education. CONCLUSIONS: A required geriatric medicine curriculum is now included in most GIM residency programs. Variability in the amount of time devoted to geriatrics exists across GIM residencies. Residents in some programs spend very little time in specific, required geriatric medicine clinical experiences. The results of this survey can guide the development of future curricular content and structure. Emphasizing geriatrics in GIM residencies helps ensure that these residents are equipped to care for the expanding aging population.

Geriatric hospital medicine.

Over the last decade, there have been dramatic developments in hospital geriatric care. These improved practices have been supported by the development of quality indicators, which allow physicians and other health care professionals to monitor and measure targeted processes and outcomes of care. This new understanding of the clinical complexity and heterogeneity of the hospitalized elderly population should not be perceived as solely the purview of geriatricians. All physicians involved in the hospital care of elderly patients should strive to attain the knowledge and skills described in this article. As the Baby Boom generation approaches 65 years, physicians and those involved in their training must anticipate and prepare for the reality that many of their patients will be elderly. Special expertise will be needed to provide the highest level of hospital care for this population, especially considering the potential negative effects of hospitalization on older adults.

An unfolding case with a linked OSCE: a curriculum in inpatient geriatric medicine.

OBJECTIVE: This study sought to design, implement, and evaluate a unique educational curriculum in inpatient geriatrics for internal medicine housestaff. DESCRIPTION: Traditionally the didactic curriculum on an inpatient geriatrics unit varies according to the attending faculty on service, the types of patients admitted, and preferences of the housestaff and students-in-training. However, a more structured educational curriculum would allow for comprehensive attention to, and a detailed exploration of, the principles of geriatric care necessary to effectively treat all hospitalized older adults. We have developed a unique curriculum using an unfolding case that is followed by an OSCE, which assesses the knowledge and skills gained by the learners. An unfolding case is one that evolves over time and is unpredictable to the learners when they begin participating in the curriculum. It is well suited to postgraduate training and assessment since the learner must develop a differential diagnosis, discuss possible work-ups, and use the work-ups' results to reassess the case as it unfolds. Our scripted case, administered by a geriatrics fellow rotating on the unit, follows an ambulatory geriatric patient from her admission throughout her treatment and until the end of her stay. It culminates in a decision-making session about her functional ability and hence her discharge plans. Moreover, several topics relevant to inpatient geriatrics, including dementia, delirium, falls, urinary incontinence, wound care, and depression, are covered in three one-hour sessions. Written examinations or pre- and post-testing after an intervention are better suited to the early years of medical training but provide poor measures of curriculum mastery and clinical competency. Alternatively, our OSCE approach uses "stations" and "interstations" that provide a structured and timed opportunity to test these skills and assess specific areas of knowledge. We have designed a five-station, five-interstation OSCE that is conducted one week after the unfolding case-based conferences have ended. Learners are evaluated by attending physicians and given immediate feedback after each station and interstation. DISCUSSION: This newly developed project has been implemented as a standardized curriculum on our inpatient geriatrics unit since September 2001. Thus far, it has been extremely well received by housestaff because of real-time assessment and review of the materials covered during the month. In addition, this progressive approach has provided an excellent forum for geriatrics fellows to develop teaching skills. Attending physicians have shown their support, finding the content to be appropriate and relevant to inpatient geriatrics. Finally, this didactic approach will be continued on our unit and a modified version is being developed and piloted for other unit staff.