A model intensive course in geriatric teaching for non-geriatrician educators

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Geriatrics
• Faculty Development

Background:

• Aging demographics necessitate geriatric care expertise across medical specialties.
• Many non-geriatrician faculty lack confidence and preparedness to teach geriatric principles.
• There is a need to equip diverse clinician-educators with geriatric medicine teaching skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of an educational intervention on non-geriatrician clinician-educators' self-efficacy and ability to teach geriatric medicine.
• To improve the teaching of geriatric medicine principles to medical students and residents.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of a targeted faculty development program.

Main Methods:

• A 3-day intensive course combined with a year of mentorship for 42 non-geriatrician clinician-educators from 17 institutions.
• Participants had significant teaching responsibilities and clinical experience with older adults.
• The intervention aimed to enhance knowledge of geriatric syndromes and teaching efficacy.

Main Results:

• Standardized tests of geriatrics knowledge and attitudes showed no significant change post-intervention.
• Significant improvements were observed in self-rated knowledge of geriatric syndromes, teaching self-efficacy, and perceived value of learning geriatrics.
• A quarter of participants achieved self-selected teaching goals within 6 months.

Conclusions:

• An intensive 3-day course effectively boosted self-reported confidence and knowledge for teaching geriatrics, but not standardized test scores.
• The intervention showed a positive association with new teaching behaviors 6 months later.
• Further research is needed to assess long-term effects and identify factors influencing participant benefit.