No abstract

Chief residents (CRs) play a crucial role in training residents and students but may have limited geriatrics training or formal preparation for their CR role. A 2-day off-site chief resident immersion training (CRIT) addressed these challenges. Objectives were to foster collaboration between disciplines in the management of complex older patients, increase knowledge of geriatrics principles to incorporate into teaching, enhance leadership skills, and help CRs develop an achievable project for implementation in their CR year. Three cohorts totaling 47 trainees and 18 faculty mentors from 13 medical and surgical disciplines participated over 3 successive years. The curriculum, developed and taught by a multidisciplinary team, featured an interactive surgical case, mini-lectures on geriatrics topics, seminars to enhance teaching and leadership skills, and one-on-one mentoring to develop a project in geriatric care or education. Evaluation included pre- and postprogram tests and self-report surveys and two follow-up surveys or interviews. In 2006 and 2007, scores on a 12-item objective knowledge test increased significantly (P<.001) from before to immediately after CRIT. Self-report knowledge and confidence in teaching geriatrics also increased significantly (P<.05) in all formally covered topics. Mean enhancement of CR skills was 4.3 (1=not at all, 5=very much). Eleven months after CRIT, all but five CRs had implemented at least part of their action projects. CRs reported improved care of older patients, better leadership skills, more and better geriatrics teaching, and more collaboration between disciplines. A 2-day interactive program for CRs can increase institutional capacity regarding geriatrics teaching and care of elderly patients across medical specialties.

Evidence of poor performance in the evaluation and management of common geriatric conditions suggests the need for changing physician behavior in these areas. Traditional lecture-style continuing medical education (CME) has not been shown to be effective. Expert faculty initially trained 60 nonexpert peer educators to conduct small-group, learner-centered CME using tool kits on memory loss, incontinence, and depression. Peer educators presented 109 community-based sessions to 1,309 medical practitioners. Surveys were administered to community participants immediately and 6 months after a session. Evidence of effectiveness included statistically significant increases in self-reported knowledge, attitudes, and office-based practices on the target topics at the time of training and at the 6-month follow-up (P<.001) and two-thirds of respondents reporting continued use of three or more tools at 6 months. Participants reported that the interactive presentation aided their understanding of and ability to use the tool kits more than an off-the-shelf review (mean rating+/-standard deviation 4.1+/-0.71, with 1 = not at all and 5 = significantly). After the formal evaluation period, additional information about the project dynamics and tool kits was obtained through a small interview sample and an on-line survey, respectively. Receiving copies of the tool kits was an important factor in enabling educators to offer sessions. Barriers to offering sessions included finding time, an audience, and space. Findings suggest that modest positive changes in practice in relation to common geriatric problems can be achieved through peer-led, community-based sessions using principles of knowledge translation and evidence-based tool kits with materials for providers and patients.

Many community-based internists and family physicians lack familiarity with geriatrics knowledge and best practices, but they face overwhelming fiscal and time barriers to expanding their skills and improving their behavior in the care of older people. Traditional lecture-and-slide-show continuing medical education (CME) programs have been shown to be relatively ineffective in changing this target group's practice. The challenge for geriatrics educators, then, is to devise CME programs that are highly accessible to practicing physicians, that will have an immediate and significant effect on practitioners' behavior, and that are financially viable. Studies of CME have shown that the most effective programs for knowledge translation in these circumstances involve what is known as active-mode learning, which relies on interactive, targeted, and multifaceted techniques. A systematic literature review, supplemented by structured interviews, was performed to inventory active-mode learning techniques for geriatrics knowledge and skills in the United States. Thirteen published articles met the criteria, and leaders of 28 active-mode CME programs were interviewed. This systematic review indicates that there is a substantial experience in geriatrics training for community-based physicians, much of which is unpublished and incompletely evaluated. It appears that the most effective methods to change behaviors involved multiple educational efforts such as written materials or toolkits combined with feedback and strong communication channels between instructors and learners.