Ten years' experience teaching geriatric medicine

The Faculty of Health Sciences of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has developed a comprehensive curriculum in geriatric medicine for the 6 years of medical studies. Similar curricula were designed for the nursing and physiotherapy schools. The facilities of the Department of Geriatrics of the Soroka Medical Center, linked with the Home Care Unit and the Home for the Aged, are used for this purpose. The main issues taught are communication, observation, nursing, multidisciplinary teamwork, services for the elderly, biology of aging, physical examination, the most common clinical problems, and the management of homebound and bedridden patients. The program aims to alert students to the need for: 1) a comprehensive approach toward the elderly; 2) a multidisciplinary team; 3) community-oriented continuity of care; and 4) transforming geriatric medicine into an attractive field of specialization. The students' attitudes towards the elderly are very positive, especially after the first year, but seem to change toward the fourth year, which is most likely due to the negative role models to which the students are exposed, especially in the clinical years. New trends in Israel, such as the recognition of geriatrics as a specialty and the national health policy encouraging the development of new geriatrics departments, will indeed be helpful in this matter. Since the attitudes of doctors and medical students toward the elderly tend to reflect the behavior of the public at large, public educational programs should be directed towards the eradication of the stigma of old age among the population as a whole.