AMDA Foundation - Studies Needed to Encourage Geriatrics as Career Choice

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Vol XIV, May `05

Studies Needed to Encourage Geriatrics as Career Choice

Vol XIV, May `05

"I would like to see more studies about physician attitudes about geriatrics and long term care-anything to get people more excited about geriatrics as a career choice," said Elizabeth J. Bragg, PhD, RN, on of the authors of "ACGME Requirements for Geriatrics Medicine Curricula in Medical Specialties: Progress Made and Progress Needed" and other studies about geriatric education and training. "We have found that people were inspired to pursue geriatrics as a career by their involvement with elderly relatives and that the people who practice geriatrics like it. But we need more studies to document this," she added. She also suggested a need for studies involving attending physicians in long term care settings. "There are lots of questions for which the answers would be useful in influencing training programs. What is their training? How do they work with residency training programs? Do they pursue ongoing education and training in geriatrics? If so, how and from where?"

Bragg noted that AMDA Foundation Research Network members could conduct such studies in their facilities and that the results could have an impact on geriatric training in medical schools across the country.

After studying geriatric training and education for several years, Bragg and her colleague, Gregg A. Warshaw, MD, have found that these activities remain inadequate in many institutions. "I am surprised that some specialties whose practitioners see a lot of geriatric patients have no requirements for training in this area. For example, the only geriatric-specific requirement for emergency medicine is knowledge of how to identify elder abuse," Bragg explained. She further observed, "A lot of specialties require 3-4 months of pediatrics but no geriatrics. This is especially surprising with the rapidly growing over-65 population in this country."

Small studies such as those that can be conducted by Research Network members will be important to help increase visibility of this issue among educators and policy makers alike, Bragg suggested, adding that the need for this is becoming urgent. "We've found that 50 percent of geriatricians are not recertifying. The number of geriatricians is decreasing, and fewer physicians are choosing to enter this field," she said. Bragg encouraged medical directors to implement or support small studies that they can publish and publicize. "To date, this issue isn't getting as much national attention as it should. It's a little discouraging," she said.

To learn how you can join the AMDA Foundation Research Network, click here.

To read more about Bragg's and Warshaw's studies, visit www.Adgapstudy.uc.edu.