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The Effect of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine Education on the Knowledge and Attitudes of Internal Medicine Residents
Author(s) -
Ahmed Nasiya N.,
Farnie Mark,
Dyer Carmel B.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2010.03235.x
Subject(s) - medicine , geriatrics , palliative care , curriculum , family medicine , competence (human resources) , gerontology , nursing , psychiatry , psychology , social psychology , pedagogy
A recent Institute of Medicine report on geriatric work force issues recommends training residents in settings with geriatric patients and increasing certification requirements to include competence in the care of older adults. Although the number of internal medicine programs with a geriatric curriculum has increased, the scope and effectiveness of these programs vary. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a new academic geriatric and palliative medicine curriculum on the knowledge and attitudes of third‐year internal medicine and fourth‐year medicine and pediatrics residents. The study was conducted at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. A new Division of Geriatric and Palliative medicine was created that offered inpatient, consultation, ambulatory, and home visit experiences in addition to didactic lectures. The University of Michigan Geriatrics Clinical Decision Making Assessment and the University of California at Los Angeles Geriatric Attitude Test was used to evaluate pre‐ and post‐rotation knowledge and attitudes. Residents' knowledge improved after completing the rotation, as shown by a 6.9‐point increase in posttest scores ( P <.001). There was also a 10‐point improvement in pretest scores over the course of the year ( P =.03). Fifty‐seven percent of residents had an improvement in attitude. This study shows that an increase in geriatric and palliative teaching opportunities provided by the establishment of a geriatric and palliative medicine division improves residents' knowledge significantly.