INTMD 7035 - Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology

"What our country needs now is more geriatricians. Geriatricians specialize in the care of older adults, whether working as consultants or as primary care physicians. Their role in primary care is increasingly important because our current primary care system is ill-equipped, and in some cases, unwilling, to provide care for older adults - those with multiple chronic illnesses, or those with dementia or other aging-related syndromes ..." - Michael D. Cantor, MD, JD; NEJM Catalyst, 2017 This course is designed to provide medical students with the competencies they need to better provide care for older adults, regardless of whether they will enter primary or specialty care, and regardless of whether they one day pursue training in geriatrics. The course is a unique hybrid to equip students with knowledge and skills in both gerontology (the study of aging) and geriatric medicine. The elective's schedule is split 50:50 to accommodate the didactic and clinical components. The didactic curriculum is entirely online. Students will train with a cadre of superb geriatrician clinician-educators in a variety of clinical settings, gain clinical experiences include training in conducting virtual telehealth video visits, receive training in leading goals of care conversations, learn about the 4 Ms (what matters most, mentation, medications, and mobility) critical to the Age-Friendly Health Systems, work closely with a faculty member from the Gerontology Interdisciplinary Program to build foundational knowledge in aging theory, demographics, social determinants of health, age-friendly health systems, and vulnerable aging populations and qualify for the 15 credit hour University of Utah Graduate Certificate in Gerontology upon completion of the elective. This appears on your University transcript. This is a 4-week course. We will accept up to 2 students per block.