Training family medicine residents for assessment and advocacy of older adults.

A review of the Basic Standards for Residency Training in Osteopathic Family Practice and Manipulative Treatment by the American Osteopathic Association and the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians revealed that the family medicine residency curriculum in place at Riverside Osteopathic Hospital in Trenton, Mich, lacked formal didactic and clinical teaching in geriatric medicine. Therefore, a geriatric curriculum focusing on functional assessment strategies was developed and implemented. A three-part, 6-hour educational series was delivered to family medicine residents, interns, and medical students at Riverside Osteopathic Hospital. Content for the sessions addressed a variety of assessment and screening tools; concepts of abuse, neglect, and guardianship; available community resources to support the independent functioning of older adults; and, application of knowledge and skills. The geriatric medicine series concluded with a working session to prepare an individualized management plan for each of the patients evaluated. Each family medicine resident, the target learners, demonstrated his skill at performing a functional assessment of a geriatric patient at the community-based Horizon Family Medical Center in Taylor, Mich. Peers and faculty provided feedback. Family medicine residents were able to transfer knowledge and skills from the classroom to a geriatric patient. This teaching curriculum is the starting point for further development of clinical and community-based geriatric experiences for the family medicine residents at Riverside Osteopathic Hospital.