Teaching the multidisciplinary team approach in a geriatrics miniresidency

The miniresidency program in geriatrics begun in 1985 at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine acquaints practicing health professionals with a multidisciplinary team approach to the care of geriatric patients. The two-week program features participation in a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic, home visits, social work and nutrition consultations, and conferences with patients and families. Miniresidency members also participate in neurologic and neuropsychological evaluations and attend day care for demented adults. The 71 health professionals who completed the program during its first 20 months showed significant improvement on their scores between the pre- and posttests: the mean of all scores in the pretest was 51 out of a possible 80 (SD 15); the mean of all scores in the posttest was 75 out of a possible 80 (SD 4); p less than .001. The 77% who returned post-program evaluation questionnaires found the program "useful" or "very useful."