Evolution of the geriatric curriculum in general residency training - Recommendations for the coming decade

As the number of older Americans increased in the twentieth century, traini ng programs added geriatrics to their teaching and clinical experiences. Th e advent of added qualifications in geriatrics through board examination an d the accreditation of geriatric residency (fellowship) programs brought fu rther recognition of the geriatric imperative. Yet curricular requirements for experience with old age mental illness remain minimal. Reduced support for graduate medical education dictates that general-rather than geriatric- psychiatrists will continue to provide the majority of specialty mental hea lth services to older adults. The authors review the emergence of geriatric s in general residency training and present recommendations for further evo lution.