The Importance of “High Valence” Events in a Successful Program for Teaching Geriatrics to Medical Students

Abstract

Virginia Commonwealth University developed an enhanced medical student geriatric curriculum that includes required home visits and nursing home visits for second year students (180 per year), an annual Forum on Aging for all first and second year students, and small group exercises. We added 30 hours of basic science material to pre-clinical courses and increased clinical exposure to geriatricians in third and fourth years. Student satisfaction with individual experiences was high. Persistent effects of "high valence" required activities, where emotion played a role, was shown by post-pre survey techniques and focus groups. Fourth year AAMC exit questionnaire items in areas addressed by this curriculum improved markedly between 2002 and 2006, while an internal control changed much less.

Incorporating Geriatrics into Undergraduate Medical Education in Lebanon

“…Introduction to older adult care starts as early as the first two years of medical school in several programs in the United States. Basic science courses were modified to include 1-2 hours per course of geriatric teaching provided by a geriatrician [14]. Didactic sessions are also complemented by web-based modules which address pharmacology; cognitive and functional assessment; women's health; infectious disease; and organ-specific aspects of aging and disease.…”

“…Didactic sessions are also complemented by web-based modules which address pharmacology; cognitive and functional assessment; women's health; infectious disease; and organ-specific aspects of aging and disease. The pharmacology course introduces the student to the challenge of geriatric polypharmacy and to the risk of drug-drug interactions [14][15]. Introduction of geriatrics during the anatomy course addressed discussions about causes of death and differentiation of normal (physiologic) aging from pathologic changes leading to disease and death by using demographic information and anatomical findings of cadavers [13,[16][17].…”

“…Interactive modules were very well received by medical students at Emory and Weil Cornell University; they enhanced knowledge of aging, improved interpersonal skills, and changed their perception of older patients from one of frail debilitated persons to gracefully aging and functional individuals [14,[18][19]. These modules also led to an interest in pursuing a specialty in geriatric medicine, which many students were unaware of prior to the module.…”

A Brief, Intensive, Clinically Focused Geriatrics Course During the Third Year of Medical School

“…How best to train medical students in geriatrics is a work in progress. Strategies employed include introductory experiences during the preclinical years, clinical exposure during third‐year clerkships such as Medicine, clinical electives, and, at a few schools, required rotations 8–15 . Each approach has strengths and weaknesses with respect to providing academic content and clinical experience.…”

“…Strategies employed include introductory experiences during the preclinical years, clinical exposure during third-year clerkships such as Medicine, clinical electives, and, at a few schools, required rotations. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Each approach has strengths and weaknesses with respect to providing academic content and clinical experience. An additional challenge is the relatively small size of the geriatrictrained faculty at most medical schools, approximately nine to 10 faculty, which makes some approaches unfeasible.…”