An introduction to geriatrics for first-year medical students

OBJECTIVE: To prepare medical students to better serve their older patients while raising awareness of geriatrics as a career choice. DESIGN: To determine the impact of a new educational program, attitudinal a ssessments were administered to the group before and after participation in the program and to a comparison group of nonintervention students. SETTING: University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred and three first-year medical students. MEASUREMENTS: Student response on a scale of one to six regarding four cons tructs: attitudes and beliefs about providing medical care for older people , knowledge and beliefs about aging, interest in pursuing clinical geriatri cs, and interest in pursuing aging research. RESULTS: Four factors were consistently formed in the analysis process: bel iefs about physical decline; comfort with older people; beliefs about caree r opportunities; and interest in geriatric research. The intervention group made significant gains in two areas: comfort with older people and underst anding of physical decline in aging. Two new factors emerged in post-test d ata. CONCLUSIONS: The impact of the program was mixed. Although awareness of ger iatrics and comfort with older people was increased, there was little chang e in career aspirations. Students in the program increased their awareness of physical decline in old age, setting the stage for teaching them about t he physician's role with regard to function, and learned that geriatrics is a low-status specialty.