Meeting Geriatric Competencies: Are Internal Medicine Residency Programs in New Jersey Meeting Expectations for Quality Care in Older Adults

Abstract

There has long been recognition for improved education and training in aging and geriatrics. As the number of older individuals in the United States increases, with 20% being older than 65 years by 2030, it will become increasingly important for internists and medical subspecialty trainees to have proper training in the care of older adults. A survey was developed and administered to Internal Medicine Program Directors, to perform an educational needs assessment. The survey was administered during the beginning of the 2015 academic year via email. The survey assessed general program characteristics, details regarding required geriatric and palliative medicine teaching, opportunities for electives, barriers encountered at each training site, and future recommendations for improving the structure of resident education. Analysis of survey responses indicated that geriatric and palliative care education is lacking. Although all training programs provided some aspect of geriatric and palliative medicine training to internal medicine residents, only 27% of training programs had a formal curriculum in geriatric and palliative medicine. The majority had an informal curriculum. Very few programs reported using a multimodality approach; most used isolated experiences in either an inpatient or an outpatient setting. Although all residency directors believed curricular developments in geriatric and palliative medicine were important, very few have available faculty needed to facilitate curricular improvements. Almost all identified that they would use a restructured curriculum if it were readily available. Investment in developing content and a standardized curriculum in geriatric and palliative medicine would be very valuable and well received in New Jersey.

Identifying the areas of low self-reported confidence of internal medicine residents in geriatrics: a descriptive study of findings from a structured geriatrics skills assessment survey

“…As such, there has been growing recognition of the need to ensure that all physicians working with older persons are confident and capable of delivering appropriate geriatric care [13][14][15][16]. Given that the majority of care general internists provide is to older adults [17][18][19], it is crucial that internal medicine residency programs focus on preparing the next generation of physicians to address the specific needs of older patients [20,21].…”