Geriatrics: Goals and Objectives

Goals

1. To increase the resident’s fund of knowledge in geriatric medicine.
2. To familiarize the resident with the workings of a life care community and placement of patients at appropriate levels of outpatient care.
3. To introduce the resident to the role of the geriatrician in primary care and the geriatric team approach to the patient.
4. To expose the resident to the ethical dilemmas encountered in the day to day care of the aging patient.

Objectives

1. To provide a core curriculum of geriatric topics to learn through the AAFP monographs, articles, the lecture series and precepting.
2. To learn how a multi-disciplinary team works in the care of the elderly through residents’ review and the Geriatric Assessment Unit.
3. To understand functional assessment of the elderly patient, the standardized tools available for such an assessment, and the assistance physical therapy and nursing can give with such an assessment.
4. To understand mental status assessment of the elderly patient, and how and when to apply a standardized assessment tool.
5. To experience working with the elderly by providing care in the office setting and skilled nursing facility.
6. To familiarize the residents with capabilities and limitations of the various levels of care; skilled nursing facility, personal care, assisted living and residential living in a life care community.
7. To expose the resident to the roles of the various members of the health care team by spending time with physical therapists, occupational therapists, social workers, etc.
8. To gain experience caring for the chronically ill.
9. To have residents round in the skilled nursing facility and familiarize themselves with its physical makeup, staff and patient population.
10. Residents will follow at least 2 patients in a nursing facility Residential during their PGY-2 and PGY-3 years.