European postgraduate training in geriatric medicine: data of a systematic international survey

Abstract

The survey tries to give an actual condensed picture of postgraduate specialty training in geriatric medicine across Europe. Results show a consistent improvement in the recognition of geriatric medicine as independent specialty over the last decade. Continuous development of specialty training in geriatric medicine is required to medical address the public health needs of an aging population. Competence-based educational models including adequate forms of assessment should be targeted throughout Europe. To emphasize the importance of postgraduate geriatric training, it should be a mission to harmonize training standards across Europe.

New horizons in geriatric medicine education and training: The need for pan-European education and training standards

“…Recent surveys have demonstrated wide variability in postgraduate geriatric medicine training [11][12][13]. Firstly, in 5 of the 31 countries surveyed, geriatric medicine was not recognised as a specialty or a sub-specialty [11].…”

“…Recent surveys have demonstrated wide variability in postgraduate geriatric medicine training [11][12][13]. Firstly, in 5 of the 31 countries surveyed, geriatric medicine was not recognised as a specialty or a sub-specialty [11]. Two thirds of European countries did recognise geriatric medicine as an independent post-graduate specialty, with the remainder viewing it as a sub-specialty, mainly of internal medicine [11].…”

“…Firstly, in 5 of the 31 countries surveyed, geriatric medicine was not recognised as a specialty or a sub-specialty [11]. Two thirds of European countries did recognise geriatric medicine as an independent post-graduate specialty, with the remainder viewing it as a sub-specialty, mainly of internal medicine [11]. Nearly all the countries offering postgraduate training in geriatric medicine have written, competency-based curricula covering different learning domains [11].…”

The development of a geriatric postgraduate education assessment instrument using a modified Delphi procedure

“…The format of geriatric medicine varies substantially between European countries and some countries have not yet established postgraduate training in the discipline [5,6]. A recent survey on postgraduate specialist training in Europe found 24 of the 31 countries had a recognised curriculum [7]. However, these differed considerably in terms of duration of training, specified core competences and mechanisms for assessment and certification [8].…”

The European curriculum for geriatric emergency medicine

“…Despite a growing awareness of the importance of geriatric competencies in Europe, there is no specific European Geriatric Emergency Medicine (GEM) curriculum 6 . The purpose of the GEM curriculum is to highlight the competencies that might be expected of emergency department AND geriatric services focusing on the care of predominantly frail older people in the emergency medicine setting.…”