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Education
A major goal of Donald W. Reynolds Foundation's programs
in geriatrics is to increase the number of qualified geriatricians
trained to treat older persons. We have addressed this issue
in the first four years of this program by developing a mandatory
rotation in Geriatrics for medical students. In addition,
the geriatric fellowship program has expanded leading to an
increase in the number of graduate geriatricians electing
academic careers in the field and an increase in the number
of practicing geriatricians in the state.
Medical Student Education
- All medical students have the opportunity to join a special
interest group. Topics germane to geriatrics are discussed.
- A committee is working to infuse geriatric content in
the current medical school curriculum.
- A summer geriatric research program is offered to freshman
medical students. Students may spend ten weeks under the
mentorship of a researcher within the department as well
as attend applicable research conferences and Geriatric
Grand Rounds.
Mandatory Rotation in Geriatrics for Junior Medical Students
Developing a mandatory rotation for junior medical students
was the highest priority for the new Department of Geriatrics.
Now in its third year the program is fully established, stable
and well received by students. By the end of the second year
evaluations had improved to be in the same range as other
experiences for junior medical students and our assessments
of the current year suggest continued improvement. The components
of the rotation are:
- A two week rotation in a Geriatric Clinic
- Two weeks in either the Transitional Care Unit at the
VA or two weeks on the Inpatient Geriatric Service at the
University Hospital
- One half day weekly in the nursing home
- One half day weekly in hospice and palliative care
- One half day in Geriatric Grand Rounds and specific didactic
sessions
- One half day for research and reading
The student's grade is made up from faculty evaluations and
an Observed Student Clinical Evaluation (OSCE), and a computerized
Post-Encounter Examination
In the coming academic years, we plan to further refine the
program in an effort to provide the best experience possible.
The Education Division will offer on-line Geriatric Education
Modules. Students will complete these modules and subsequently
attend a faculty-led discussion group focusing on the modular
content. Ultimately, the discussion groups and modules will
replace the traditional lecture format of the student didactic
sessions.
Residency Training
An Internal Medicine intern is assigned monthly to the Geriatrics
outpatient setting and a resident is assigned to the Geriatric
Inpatient Service. Residents in Family Medicine, Psychiatry
and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation also rotate through
Geriatrics.
Geriatric Fellowship
The Department of Geriatrics offers a fully-accredited Geriatric
Fellowship program. Two fellows graduated from our program
during the 2000-01 academic year. One has elected a position
with our affiliate in Northwest Arkansas, the Schmeiding Senior
Health Center and the other has accepted a position with the
Arkansas State Health Department. Five fellows are currently
in training.
The Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC)
at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System was awarded
three special academic fellowships in Geriatrics. These fellowships
will provide either research or teaching training for qualified
individuals seeking careers in academic Geriatrics.
Impact of Geriatric Training on Geriatricians in the State
of Arkansas.
As a consequence of our commitment to Geriatricians we w have
more geriatricians per capita than anywhere in nation. At
the current time there are:
- Twenty-four fellowship trained geriatricians in Little
Rock.
- Seven geriatricians in Northwest Arkansas.
- One geriatrician each in Hot Springs, Batesville, Russelville
and El. Dorado.
affiliated with the DWR Institute on Aging.
Post Graduate Training
In collaboration with UAMS, the VA, the GRECC and the Arkansas
Geriatric Education Center, the Donald W. Reynolds Department
of Geriatrics supported a large number of educational programs
for physicians and other health care providers. These included:
- Geriatric Grand Rounds is offered each Wednesday at the
Reynolds Institute on Aging. In addition, on the first and
third Wednesdays, Grand Rounds is broadcast to all interested
Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) and affiliated clinical
sites throughout the state.
- Four video teleconferences ayear are broadcast on array
of age-related topics. These programs are taped and edited
and copies are availabel at cost.
- A two day " Nutrition and Aging" conference
is offered annually.
- A Geriatric Medicine Update is offered every year in February.
Topics have included cardiovascular disease, infectious
diseases, and bone and joint disease.
- Collaboration has included co-sponsored meetings with
the Arkansas chapter of the American Medical Directors Association
(AMDA).
- Every spring, the GRECC, AGEC, and DWR Institute on Aging
co-sponsor "Best Practices in the Continuum of Care"
program.
- Other programs have been co-sponsored with many different
partners. Programs are featured on the AGEC
website.
Interdisciplinary Education Programs.
The Department provides support for and contributes to the
training of health care providers in other disciplines. These
include:
- A seven-week mandatory rotation in the Baccalaureate
Program in Nursing.
- GRECC Expansion Traineeships for graduate nurses, occupational
therapists, pharmacy residents, and a post-internship registration-eligible
dietitian.
- A Geriatric Nurse Practitioner Track in the Masters of
Nursing Science Program.
- A Geriatric Nutrition track in the Masters of Science
in Clinical Nutrition program.
- The Arkansas Geriatric Education Center's major mandate
is to train rural health care professionals in geriatrics.
This goal is being achieved through a series of video teleconferences
that are broadcast via interactive compressed video to receiver
sites at the AHECs, the Rural Hospital Network, and independent
receiver sites (colleges, community colleges, community
education centers, hospitals). Video teleconferences are
taped, edited and are available for distribution as VHS
tapes; 12 are presently available. A new program, Arkansas
Geriatric Education Mentored Scholars (ARGEMS), will train
practicing health professionals in a concentrated didactic
course with take home modules, and provide experiences in
local Centers on Aging scattered throughout Arkansas.
- Interdisciplinary courses that focus on issues in aging
(Death & Dying, Communicating with Older Adults) have
been developed and introduced into the curriculum as electives
for students in all of the UAMS colleges.
- The Arkansas Geriatric Education Center (AGEC) has launched
its own website and offers information about the upcoming
educational programs through a calendar and the program
brochures that have registration pages that can be downloaded.
- The AGEC publishes a quarterly newsletter that is mailed
to over 1500 health care practitioners.
Educational Programs targeting the general public include:
- The Senior Outlook Series which covers important topics
about aging and age-dependent diseases (topics covered include
diabetes, hypertension, depression, coronary artery disease
and memory loss);
- The SeniorLife Program which offers older adults and their
families access to the most up to date and innovative health-care
information and services at UAMS; SeniorLife members receive
the quarterly newsletter, SeniorView, which provides useful
information on aging.
- The Senior Net program is housed in the Donald W. Reynolds
Institute on Aging and teaches older adults how to use and
program computers.
- Aging Successfully with Dr. David. In November 1999 the
first 13 segments of this series, filmed at AETN with generous
support from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation aired in
Arkansas, Nevada and Oklahoma. PBS picked up the series
and offers it Nationally. It was immediately picked up and
will air in about 40% of the United States Market. Topics
include Nutrition, Exercise, Stress Management, Screening,
Depression, Memory Loss, Alzheimer's disease and more.
- Dr. Lipschitz now writes a weekly column on aging successfully.
This appears in the Donrey Media newspapers nationwide.
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