A program to teach house calls for the elderly to fourth-year medical students

The authors report on the development, implementation, and evaluation of a curriculum to teach house calls for the elderly to fourth-year medical students. A faculty committee drew up a statement of philosophy: developed attitude, knowledge, and skill objectives: and specified required educational experiences for the curriculum. which was incorporated into a required eight-week rotation in ambulatory medicine. In 1985 and 1986, 18 students completed the new curriculum at three different clinic sites and made a total of 167 documented house calls. Prerotation and postrotation measurement of the students' attitudes documented a significantly (p less than .003) more favorable attitude toward house calls after completion of the curriculum. The students further indicated that they were more likely after the curriculum than before it to provide house calls as part of their future medical practice. The students' evaluation of the curriculum provided information on the relative effectiveness of teaching strategies used in the curriculum and documented the success of the curriculum in transmitting knowledge about the homebound elderly.