Education

A major goal of Donald W. Reynolds Foundation's programs in geriatrics is to increase the number of qualified geriatricians trained to treat older persons. We have addressed this issue by developing a mandatory rotation in Geriatrics for medical students. In addition, the geriatric fellowship program has expanded, leading to an increase in the number of graduate geriatricians electing academic careers in the field and an increase in the number of practicing geriatricians in the state.

Medical Student Education

1. All medical students have the opportunity to join a special interest group. Topics germane to geriatrics are discussed.
   
2. A committee is working to infuse geriatric content in the current medical school curriculum.
   
3. A summer geriatric research program is offered to freshman medical students. Students may spend ten weeks under the mentorship of a researcher within the department as well as attend applicable research conferences and Geriatric Grand Rounds.
   

Mandatory Rotation in Geriatrics for Junior Medical Students
Developing a mandatory rotation for junior medical students was the highest priority for the Department of Geriatrics. The components of the rotation are:

1. A two week rotation in a Geriatric Clinic
   
2. Two weeks in either the Transitional Care Unit at the VA or two weeks on the Inpatient Geriatric Service at the University Hospital
   
3. One half day weekly in the nursing home
   
4. One half day weekly in hospice and palliative care
   
5. One half day in Geriatric Grand Rounds and specific didactic sessions
   
6. One half day for research and reading
   

The student's grade is made up from faculty evaluations and an Observed Student Clinical Evaluation (OSCE), and a computerized Post-Encounter Examination

In the coming academic years, we plan to further refine the program in an effort to provide the best experience possible. The Education Division will offer on-line Geriatric Education Modules. Students will complete these modules and subsequently attend a faculty-led discussion group focusing on the modular content. Ultimately, the discussion groups and modules will replace the traditional lecture format of the student didactic sessions.

Residency Training
An Internal Medicine intern is assigned monthly to the Geriatrics outpatient setting and a resident is assigned to the Geriatric Inpatient Service. Residents in Family Medicine, Psychiatry and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation also rotate through Geriatrics.

Geriatric Fellowship
The Department of Geriatrics offers a fully-accredited Geriatric Fellowship program. Two fellows graduated from our program during the 2000-01 academic year. One has elected a position with our affiliate in Northwest Arkansas, the Schmeiding Senior Health Center and the other has accepted a position with the Arkansas State Health Department. Five fellows are currently in training.

The Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC) at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System was awarded three special academic fellowships in Geriatrics. These fellowships will provide either research or teaching training for qualified individuals seeking careers in academic Geriatrics.

Impact of Geriatric Training on Geriatricians in the State of Arkansas.
As a consequence of our commitment to Geriatricians we have more geriatricians per capita than anywhere in nation. At the current time there are:

1. Twenty-four fellowship trained geriatricians in Little Rock.
   
2. Seven geriatricians in Northwest Arkansas.
   
3. One geriatrician each in Hot Springs, Batesville, Russelville and El. Dorado.
   

Each are affiliated with the DWR Institute on Aging.

Post Graduate Training
In collaboration with UAMS, the VA, the GRECC and the Arkansas Geriatric Education Center, the Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics supported a large number of educational programs for physicians and other health care providers. These included:

1. Geriatric Grand Rounds is offered each Wednesday at the Reynolds Institute on Aging. In addition, on the first and third Wednesdays, Grand Rounds is broadcast to all interested Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) and affiliated clinical sites throughout the state.
   
2. Four video teleconferences ayear are broadcast on array of age-related topics. These programs are taped and edited and copies are availabel at cost.
   
3. A two day " Nutrition and Aging" conference is offered annually.
   
4. A Geriatric Medicine Update is offered every year in February. Topics have included cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases, and bone and joint disease.
   
5. Collaboration has included co-sponsored meetings with the Arkansas chapter of the American Medical Directors Association (AMDA).
6. Every spring, the GRECC, AGEC, and DWR Institute on Aging co-sponsor "Best Practices in the Continuum of Care" program.
   
7. Other programs have been co-sponsored with many different partners. Programs are featured on the AGEC website.
   

Interdisciplinary Education Programs.
The Department provides support for and contributes to the training of health care providers in other disciplines. These include:

1. A seven-week mandatory rotation in the Baccalaureate Program in Nursing.
   
2. GRECC Expansion Traineeships for graduate nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacy residents, and a post-internship registration-eligible dietitian.
   
3. A Geriatric Nurse Practitioner Track in the Masters of Nursing Science Program.
   
4. A Geriatric Nutrition track in the Masters of Science in Clinical Nutrition program.
   
5. The Arkansas Geriatric Education Center's major mandate is to train rural health care professionals in geriatrics. This goal is being achieved through a series of video teleconferences that are broadcast via interactive compressed video to receiver sites at the AHECs, the Rural Hospital Network, and independent receiver sites (colleges, community colleges, community education centers, hospitals). Video teleconferences are taped, edited and are available for distribution as VHS tapes; 12 are presently available. A new program, Arkansas Geriatric Education Mentored Scholars (ARGEMS), will train practicing health professionals in a concentrated didactic course with take home modules, and provide experiences in local Centers on Aging scattered throughout Arkansas.
   
6. Interdisciplinary courses that focus on issues in aging (Death & Dying, Communicating with Older Adults) have been developed and introduced into the curriculum as electives for students in all of the UAMS colleges.
   
7. The Arkansas Geriatric Education Center (AGEC) has launched its own website and offers information about the upcoming educational programs through a calendar and the program brochures that have registration pages that can be downloaded.
8. The AGEC publishes a quarterly newsletter that is mailed to over 1500 health care practitioners.

Educational Programs targeting the general public include:

1. The Senior Outlook Series which covers important topics about aging and age-dependent diseases (topics covered include diabetes, hypertension, depression, coronary artery disease and memory loss);
   
2. The SeniorLife Program which offers older adults and their families access to the most up to date and innovative health-care information and services at UAMS; SeniorLife members receive the quarterly newsletter, SeniorView, which provides useful information on aging.
   
3. The Senior Net program is housed in the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and teaches older adults how to use and program computers.
   
4. Aging Successfully with Dr. David. In November 1999 the first 13 segments of this series, filmed at AETN with generous support from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation aired in Arkansas, Nevada and Oklahoma. PBS picked up the series and offers it Nationally. It was immediately picked up and will air in about 40% of the United States Market. Topics include Nutrition, Exercise, Stress Management, Screening, Depression, Memory Loss, Alzheimer's disease and more.
   
5. Dr. Lipschitz now writes a weekly column on aging successfully. This appears in the Donrey Media newspapers nationwide.

Copyright © 2003 Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences 4301 W. Markham Slot 748 Little Rock, AR 72205 (501) 296-1000 (877) SR YEARS (779-3277) geriatrics@uams.edu