The Physician's Role in Assessing and Counseling Aging Drivers: A Training Session for Undergraduate Medical Students

Abstract

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.