Gerontologic and geriatric training in medical school: curricular preferences shown by medical students, educators,...

The need for incorporating gerontologic and geriatric training into the education of medical students is evident. Two main obstacles are the lack of educator knowledge in planning such training, and negative attitudes toward aging and the aged. Curriculum planning requires a design for the goals/objectives, the content, and the delivery vehicles. This article concerns chiefly the delivery vehicles, a subject which has received little attention in the literature. Negative attitudes on the part of students and their educators may defeat the incorporation of geriatric training into the curriculum. To assist in reducing these obstacles, a study was conducted for the purpose of providing data to educators which might facilitate the design of a delivery component for a medical student curriculum in gerontology and geriatrics. Senior medical students, their educators, and some general practitioners were surveyed in randomized groups, to determine: 1) their preferences for delivery vehicles in such a curriculum, 2) their attitudes toward aging and the aged, and 3) relevant demographic variables. The results are discussed from the viewpoint of the potential impact of these factors on their preferences and on the creation of obstacles to curriculum incorporation.