Geriatrics

The Division’s Geriatrics Program encompasses the traditional 3 academic areas of clinical practice, teaching, and research.  The clinical practice of geriatrics consists of a busy geriatrics evaluation clinic, located in the Morehouse Pavilion, and an inpatient consultation service.  The geriatrics evaluation clinic is currently open 4 half-days per week, with plans to expand.  Patients may be seen for one time consults, ongoing consults, or primary care geriatrics.  There is almost always a geriatrics fellow, resident or medical student seeing patients in this clinic along with the faculty member.  All geriatrics issues are addressed, with emphasis on multiple co-morbidities and frailty, memory loss and dementia, coordination of care and pharmacology management, and other geriatric conditions.

The inpatient geriatrics consultation service provides requested consults on geriatric issues, the most common of which are dementia, delirium, appropriate placement, and polypharmacy.

There is a large teaching commitment in geriatrics.  There is a fellow in geriatrics that rotates on many services, particularly the evaluation clinic and the inpatient consultation service, but also other areas including the teaching nursing home.  Each month 2 or 3 senior residents in Internal Medicine rotate on geriatrics, in the evaluation clinic and at a nursing home.  There is also a strong medical student program in geriatrics that includes required assignments in the first 2 years of medical school, and required elements of geriatrics in a senior rotation, with students usually being in the evaluation clinic also.

The research program is the smallest component, but is ongoing.  There are current projects ongoing on medical education in geriatrics, and on mental status testing, and 3 abstracts have recently been presented in these areas.