ABSTRACT #16

IMPROVING EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE ON A GERIATRICS INPATIENT SERVICE: A CURRICULAR INTERVENTION

Laurel Hansen, Helen Fernandez, Omar Amir, Ciera Sears

PURPOSE AND GOALS: Due to the nationwide shortage of Geriatrics providers, we recognize that Internal Medicine (IM) physicians will be expected to care for America’s aging population. It is therefore imperative that IM residents receive Geriatrics-specific education. At Mount Sinai’s Morningside campus, we are currently implementing a structured learning experience with the goal of improving Geriatrics teaching for IM residents. Additionally, Geriatric Fellows have an opportunity to practice and enhance their teaching skills.

METHODS: To understand the educational needs of the trainees, a “Needs Assessment” survey based on Kern’s model in curriculum is emailed to fellows and residents at the start of their rotation. Survey questions explore prior geriatrics exposure, comfort level with geratrics topics, and suggestions for future topics. Based on early survey results, a “passport” of geriatric content was compiled with recommended teaching points and literature references. The curricular intervention includes two components. In the first, Geriatrics faculty offer 5-6 didactic sessions to residents, with topics based on ACGME Geriatrics competencies for Internal Medicine residencies. For the second intervention, fellows use the ‘passport’ to create and lead 2-4 presentations on core geriatric topics for residents during their rotation on the Geriatrics inpatient service.

EVALUATION PLAN: To evaluate the didactic series component, a post-presentation survey will be distributed electronically to all participating residents. This survey includes feedback on quality of presenter, amount and depth of information, relevance to practice, and any additional comments. Fellows receive an electronic post-rotation survey requesting feedback on their teaching sessions.

SUMMARY OF RESULTS: Since this curriculum was implemented, 5 geriatric fellows and 18 Medicine residents have rotated on the Geriatric inpatient service. We have received 8 Resident and 3 fellow responses to the Needs Assessment. 60% of resident responders indicated that they had not received geriatricsspecific training prior to their residency, thus confirming our belief in the necessity of this curriculum. 2/5 Fellows completed the post-rotation survey, with both indicating that they were able to teach a session at least 4 times over a 2-week rotation; both noted time constraints due to Residents’ clinical obligations.

REFLECTIVE CRITIQUE: Our needs assessment revealed residents were interested in learning about Geriatrics content. However, certain topics requested by residents such as “End of life care” and “Pain management” are clinically advanced subjects that fellows may not feel confident presenting during earlier stages of their fellowship training. This observation confirms the importance of the faculty-led didactic series for residents. We will continue to collect feedback from residents and fellows in order to improve Geriatric education for IM residents, with a long-term plan for expanding implementation of this curriculum to other Mount Sinai sites.