TY - JOUR
T1 - An age-friendly residency
T2 - Geriatrician and internist perspectives on geriatric education in an internal medicine residency
AU - Loewenthal, Julia
AU - Beltran, Christine P.
AU - Schwartz, Andrea Wershof
AU - Ramani, Subha
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The American Geriatrics Society.
PY - 2023/7
Y1 - 2023/7
N2 - Background: General internists and subspecialists need skills to deliver age-friendly care to older adults, yet a minority of Internal Medicine (IM) residency programs provide robust geriatric-specific clinical instruction. We sought to explore internist and geriatrician perspectives regarding current strengths and weakness of geriatric education, and perceived supports, barriers, and strategies to enhance geriatric education in an IM residency program. Methods: Using social learning theory as a conceptual framework, we conducted a needs assessment using focus groups and semi-structured interviews with IM residency leadership and geriatricians at an academic medical center. Interviews were recorded and transcribed; thematic analysis was performed on deidentified transcripts. Results: We recruited faculty by e-mail in 2021; eight geriatricians and seven internists participated (60% female, 13% Hispanic/Latino, and 73% White). Six participated in two virtual focus groups and nine participated in virtual one-on-one interviews. All had at least monthly teaching contact with residents and six were associate program directors. We identified five key themes: (1) professional role models, (2) personal attitudes toward aging, (3) the powerful influence of patients, (4) clinical complexity of geriatrics, and (5) branding and prestige of the field. Participants offered multiple suggestions for improvement, especially faculty development for non-geriatrician faculty. Conclusions: Geriatric education for IM residents is impacted by multiple factors, but uniformly viewed as important. Moving forward, programs could capitalize on opportunities for closer collaboration between residency leadership, internists, and geriatricians to train the next generation of IM residency graduates to deliver age-friendly care.
AB - Background: General internists and subspecialists need skills to deliver age-friendly care to older adults, yet a minority of Internal Medicine (IM) residency programs provide robust geriatric-specific clinical instruction. We sought to explore internist and geriatrician perspectives regarding current strengths and weakness of geriatric education, and perceived supports, barriers, and strategies to enhance geriatric education in an IM residency program. Methods: Using social learning theory as a conceptual framework, we conducted a needs assessment using focus groups and semi-structured interviews with IM residency leadership and geriatricians at an academic medical center. Interviews were recorded and transcribed; thematic analysis was performed on deidentified transcripts. Results: We recruited faculty by e-mail in 2021; eight geriatricians and seven internists participated (60% female, 13% Hispanic/Latino, and 73% White). Six participated in two virtual focus groups and nine participated in virtual one-on-one interviews. All had at least monthly teaching contact with residents and six were associate program directors. We identified five key themes: (1) professional role models, (2) personal attitudes toward aging, (3) the powerful influence of patients, (4) clinical complexity of geriatrics, and (5) branding and prestige of the field. Participants offered multiple suggestions for improvement, especially faculty development for non-geriatrician faculty. Conclusions: Geriatric education for IM residents is impacted by multiple factors, but uniformly viewed as important. Moving forward, programs could capitalize on opportunities for closer collaboration between residency leadership, internists, and geriatricians to train the next generation of IM residency graduates to deliver age-friendly care.
KW - Internal Medicine
KW - age-friendly
KW - geriatric education
KW - graduate medical education
KW - older adult
KW - resident
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85150914750&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/jgs.18315
DO - 10.1111/jgs.18315
M3 - Article
C2 - 36947742
AN - SCOPUS:85150914750
SN - 0002-8614
VL - 71
SP - 2279
EP - 2289
JO - Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
JF - Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
IS - 7
ER -