Aging Couple Across the Curriculum allowed the interweaving of multiple issues that are characteristic of many geriatric cases. Students were able to see the complexity of issues and the impact on other family members.

Aging Couple Across the Curriculum is a unique program designed around a couple who "age" a decade with each year of medical school. In these half-day sessions, students encounter the aging couple through a standardized patient experience. Interactive breakout sessions conducted by multidisciplinary professionals enhance student learning and appreciation of the contributions of the team of professionals. A panel of elder specialists provides personal insight into how they have overcome and/or adapted to various health-related problems. Evaluation measures have indicated that students are benefiting from the program and that it is affecting their attitudes in a positive way toward caring for older adults.

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The critical need for physicians to become entrenched in the issues of older drivers and public safety is the focus of a training initiative developed as a component of an innovative geriatrics curriculum, Aging (Couple) Across the Curriculum. As the number of aging drivers in the United States rises, physicians can play an important role in helping older patients continue safe driving practices and in counseling those who need to cease driving. This article describes an inventive course designed to sensitize medical students to the many complex issues entangled in driving and aging and to prepare them to competently and compassionately assess and counsel older drivers. The act of driving connotes more than mobility. It reinforces one's independence, including the ability to go when and where one chooses. There must be a careful balance between an older person's privilege to drive and the public's right to safety. Through this training program, students can experience the complexity of this significant issue. This model has the potential to be utilized in other medical schools and could be adapted for use in interdisciplinary education.