Use of a geriatric home visit experience to teach medical students the functional status assessment

Functional status measures strongly predict hospital outcomes and mortality, yet teaching of these measures is often missing from medical schools' curricula. To address this deficiency, we developed a Geriatric Home-based Assessment (GHA) module for third-year medical students. The module was composed of a workshop and two to three home visits.

To determine whether the GHA module would improve students' knowledge and proficiency in the functional status assessment.

Students completed a validated questionnaire and evaluated a standardized patient in an Observed Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). Scores from students completing the GHA were compared to the scores of students without this experience.

Thirty-one students participated in the GHA module, and 19 students were in the control group. The mean score on the written assessment was 87% among GHA students vs. 46% in the control group (p < 0.001). The mean clinical examination score of the intervention group was also better than that of the control group (76% vs. 46%, p < 0.001).

Our GHA module was effective in improving students' knowledge and proficiency in the functional status assessment. "Hands on" experiences like the GHA allow students to develop a solid foundation for assessing functional status and mobility.