An age-friendly residency: Geriatrician and internist perspectives on geriatric education in an internal medicine residency.

BACKGROUND

General internists and subspecialists need skills to deliver age-friendly care to older adults, yet a minority of Internal Medicine (IM) residency programs provide robust geriatric-specific clinical instruction. We sought to explore internist and geriatrician perspectives regarding current strengths and weakness of geriatric education, and perceived supports, barriers, and strategies to enhance geriatric education in an IM residency program.

METHODS

Using social learning theory as a conceptual framework, we conducted a needs assessment using focus groups and semi-structured interviews with IM residency leadership and geriatricians at an academic medical center. Interviews were recorded and transcribed; thematic analysis was performed on deidentified transcripts.

RESULTS

We recruited faculty by e-mail in 2021; eight geriatricians and seven internists participated (60% female, 13% Hispanic/Latino, and 73% White). Six participated in two virtual focus groups and nine participated in virtual one-on-one interviews. All had at least monthly teaching contact with residents and six were associate program directors. We identified five key themes: (1) professional role models, (2) personal attitudes toward aging, (3) the powerful influence of patients, (4) clinical complexity of geriatrics, and (5) branding and prestige of the field. Participants offered multiple suggestions for improvement, especially faculty development for non-geriatrician faculty.

CONCLUSIONS

Geriatric education for IM residents is impacted by multiple factors, but uniformly viewed as important. Moving forward, programs could capitalize on opportunities for closer collaboration between residency leadership, internists, and geriatricians to train the next generation of IM residency graduates to deliver age-friendly care.