The State of Geriatrics Education at US Medical Schools: A National Survey of Medical Education Deans.

BACKGROUND

National and international organizations recommend that all clinicians attain core skills in caring for older adults. A key first step in devising a broad physician workforce preparedness strategy is assessing the current state of geriatrics medical education. Medical school curriculum leaders are well positioned to provide insight into geriatrics education for US medical students, but studies from recent decades are lacking.

METHODS

For this cross-sectional study, we developed a national survey on geriatrics education, which was disseminated to Medical Education Deans at all 191 accredited allopathic and osteopathic US medical schools in 2021. We present descriptive and inferential statistics for closed-ended questions as well as themes derived from qualitative analysis for open-ended questions.

RESULTS

The survey response rate was 73% (140/191). The majority of respondents felt that geriatrics education should be incorporated into medical school curricula, such as in preclinical topics (98%) and through clinical exposure (92%). However, 29% of respondents assessed their school's geriatrics curriculum as "only a little" or "not at all" developed currently. The four strongest motivators for enhancing geriatrics curricula were identified as: a new accrediting body requirement in geriatrics, curricular funding, institutional support, and faculty championing.

CONCLUSIONS

Leaders in medical student education report substantial gaps between the current and desired state of geriatrics education at the national level. Our findings hold promise in guiding creative, multipronged approaches to ensure the US physician workforce is well equipped to care for older adults in any setting, from rural outpatient clinics to urban tertiary care centers.