Assessing geriatrics in undergraduate medical education: two different approaches.

Full Abstract

Most medical schools do not have a separate course in geriatrics, but rather incorporate geriatrics into existing courses. Tracking and assessing curriculum content is more difficult in this setting. This paper describes and compares two approaches to assess curriculum content in geriatrics: a survey of course directors and a course objectives review. The results suggest that course directors report more geriatric content when asked as part of a regular survey than they identify as specific course objectives. Course objectives may be more reflective of the actual emphasis placed on aging-related material in courses. These two approaches appear to be complementary. Medical educators may find both self-report and course objective analysis to be useful and complementary in tracking geriatric material in the undergraduate medical curriculum.

Author information

Author/s: Eleazer, G Paul (GP); Liken, Michelle (M); Hirth, Victor A (VA); Johnson, David (D); Lucas, Amy (A); Egbert, John (J); Boland, Rebecca H (RH); Wieland, Darryl (D);

Affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, 15 RMP Suite 211, Columbia, SC 29203, USA. pauleleazermd(-atsign-)cs.com

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article

Journal: Gerontology & geriatrics education (Gerontol Geriatr Educ), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2004-; vol 24 (issue 3) : pp 1-8

Dates: Created 2005/05/05; Completed 2005/05/19; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 15871933, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

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