Geriatrics Curricula for Internal and Family Medicine Residents: Assessing Study Quality and Learning Outcomes

Area of Science:

• Medical Education Research
• Geriatrics Training
• Internal Medicine and Family Medicine Residencies

Background:

• Previous reviews of geriatrics curricula for internal medicine (IM) and family medicine (FM) residents did not assess study quality, learning objectives, or specific competencies.
• There is a need to evaluate the quality and outcomes of existing geriatrics curricula for IM and FM residents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review geriatrics curricula for IM and FM residents.
• To determine the types and methods of learning outcomes measured.
• To assess the quality of the included studies.

Main Methods:

• Searched PubMed and four other databases from 2003-2015 for geriatrics curricula.
• Included studies reporting learning objectives, teaching methods, and learning outcomes with comparative designs.
• Assessed learning outcomes, measures, and study quality using MERSQI and BEME methods.

Main Results:

• Fourteen studies met inclusion criteria; most targeted IM residents in inpatient settings.
• Curricula had a median duration of 1 month and covered at least 4 geriatrics competencies.
• Learning outcomes (Kirkpatrick levels 1-3) showed considerable impact on attitudes and knowledge, primarily measured by pretests/posttests.
• Mean MERSQI score was 10.5 (moderate quality).

Conclusions:

• Few geriatrics curricula with learning outcome assessments have been recently published for IM and FM residents.
• Curricula demonstrated sizeable changes in attitudes and knowledge, but reporting was limited to low-to-moderate Kirkpatrick levels.
• Overall study quality was moderate.