THE DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF A GERIATRIC EMERGENCY-MEDICINE CURRICULUM

Objective: To summarize the processes used to develop a curriculum and model of care for the emergency medical treatment of elder patients a nd to assess the efficacy of the teaching material in a pilot course. Methods: A survey of emergency medicine (EM) residency directors and g eriatric fellowship directors was used to identify key topics for incl usion in the didactic material. An interdisciplinary consensus process was used to develop didactic as well as teaching material in geriatri c EM. Pretests and posttests were administered to 46 participants in t he initial course to assess knowledge gain. Subjective course evaluati ons were also done. Results: Test scores significantly increased from 54% correct on the pretest to 77% correct on the posttest (p < 0.001). Significant improvement in knowledge as judged by pretest and posttes t results occurred in 6 of the 7 teaching modules, Subjective evaluati ons demonstrated good to excellent ratings for each module as well as the overall workshop. Conclusions: The process of developing a curricu lum for geriatric EM is described. The initial training of instructors was effective in improving participants' knowledge of geriatric issue s in EM. Participants considered the training to be effective. The eff ect of the training on the emergency care of elder persons remains to be determined.