Elective Years 3 and 4: Geriatrics

Department: Geriatrics
Title:

Geriatric Medicine and Care of the Elderly

Diversification = Subspecialty Internal Medicine

Locations: Base hospital site chosen from Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, Grey Nuns Hospital (community focus), Misericordia Hospital (community focus), Royal Alexandra Hospital (inner city), University of Alberta Hospital (internal medicine focus)
Duration: Minimum 2 weeks
Contact:

University of Alberta Students: Pam Weber geriatri@ualberta.ca

Visiting Medical Students: visitingelectives@ualberta.ca

Overview:

Learners spend time with one preceptor and their team in a hospital inpatient and clinic setting participating in admissions, consults and inpatient care. Community and rehabilitation experience can be added depending on the interests of the learner.

The elective builds on prior experience and knowledge through application to a real-world clinical problems and patients. Those without formal experience are welcome but learners have reported additional benefit if the elective follows a clerkship in internal medicine. Those with more experience will also be challenged as there is teaching expertise up to fellowship level and residents are encouraged to participate in teaching.

Learning is aligned with course level objectives for University of Alberta medical students. Common topics include the geriatric syndromes ("giants"), cognitive impairment, falls, incontinence, frailty, polypharmacy. There is no classroom teaching during the times available for electives but use of online resources and attendance at hospital grand rounds and other scheduled teaching sessions is expected.

The patient problems encountered and skills learnt in comprehensive geriatric assessment are most useful for those pursuing careers in family medicine, physical medicine, psychiatry and internal medicine and it's subspecialties (including geriatric medicine). The team skills practiced during the elective apply to all areas of medicine.

Objectives:
Learning covers the competencies for graduating medical students created by the Canadian Geriatrics Society adapted for local use. Learning objectives are provided on the website for each academic half day session which can be used a framework for guided study in consultation with your preceptor(s) and the resources provided and also for clinical experience with emphasis adjusted for the location of learning-for example, the learning objectives are different for inpatient care and Emergency Room. With patient-centred and preceptor-based learning, the emphasis is on data collection (history, physical exam, investigations) and clinical reasoning covering the clinical topics of geriatric syndromes, cognitive impairment, falls, incontinence, frailty and polypharmacy.
Additional Notes: Electives are available in January and April- August; exact dates vary each year so please inquire.

**For third year students requesting an elective in geriatrics, it is strongly recommended that the core internal medicine clerkship is completed first to make best use of your time and skills.

Learners must register for access to Netcare and Connect Care, the electronic medical records systems (EMR) six weeks before the elective commences. Once visiting students have applied through the AFMC Student Portal and their elective is confirmed, a confirmation email will automatically be generated with further instructions and the online training link for Netcare and Connect Care.
Last Updated: May 18, 2023